Very sad and frustrating

Milatry junta: “Myanmar is not in a position to receive rescue and information teams from foreign countries at the moment,” the statement, from the Foreign Ministry, said.

An aid worker in Burma, Tim Costello, chief executive of World Vision Australia, warned of an epidemic of "apocalyptic proportions" if aid did not get through.

More disturbing images at Golden Colour Revolution.

Given the nature of the Burmese government, I think AVAAZ.org's plan to route funds via the monks may be the most effective and expedient. As they state "other forms of aid could be delayed, diverted or manipulated by the Burmese government--but the monks are the most trusted and reliable institution in the country. "

Cracking the wrong joke can land you in jail

Apparently, Burma's junta only tolerate jokes in English. Perhaps because they don't understand them?

Lu Maw said that everyone in Myanmar was busy trying to keep up with rising prices, which is what drove people onto the streets to protest in August. He noted that Par Par Lay was sentenced in 1996 to "seven years for one joke" at Aung San Suu Kyi's place. Now, thanks to inflation, Lu Maw cracked, you make "two jokes and get 100 years in prison."
- Sober times for Myanmar's comics

Artwork: Laughing Buddha by ~FunkyStar

Never quite thought of Aung San Suu Kyi that way...

Despite being a monk, I have always believed that Aung San Suu Kyi would be good and wild in bed. I mean I don't think she shares my carnal enthusiasm, but you know what I mean.

In the absence of any news from Burma (and even our levitation techniques cannot penetrate the censorship), I am a bit worried about her. I mean, house arrest aside, what else might they be doing to her? I can only wonder...

More from Wan Ker-Sin's Worried
BTW the video is well worth watching.

Artwork: Buddha Is My Om Boy by ~T-a-g-g-e-r

Panty Bomb General Than Shwe!

Activists exasperated at the failure of diplomacy to apply pressure on Burma's military regime are resorting to a new means of protest against the regime's recent crackdown: sending female underwear to Burmese embassies.

Embassies in the UK, Thailand, Australia and Singapore have all been targeted by the "Panties for Peace" campaign, co-ordinated by an activist group based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The manoeuvre is a calculated insult to the junta and its leader, General Than Shwe. Superstitious junta members believe that any contact with female undergarments - clean or dirty - will sap them of their power, said Jackie Pollack, a member of the Lanna Action for Burma Committee.

Excerpted from Activists send female underwear to Burmese embassies

Hmm, if the junta really believe panties will sap their power, perhaps the UN should panty bomb their headquarters.

Pink Panties by `serpentinekiss

More info from Lanna Action for Burma found here:

After a day of tri-panty dialogue, deep in the golden triangle due to the popular demand, the panties are back. Make sure your panties reach the intended target, SPDC. You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Clean panties are fine. Or those worn for an hour or two as well. Send early, send often!

This is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from the SPDC and support the people of Burma.

Address For Thailand:
Myanmar Embassy
132 Sathorn Nua Road
Bangkok

CANADA
(Ottawa)SANDRINGHAM BUILDING, 85 RANGE ROAD, SUITE 902-903, ONTARIO KIN 8J6
Tel : (613) 232-6434
Fax : (613) 232-6435
Send Email

Head of Mission:
U Nyunt Tin (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary)

Deputy Head of Mission:
Daw Yin Yin Oo (First-Secretary)

From Myanmar Embassies Worldwide:

USA
Washington D.C
2300 S St. N.W. WASHINGTON D.C 20008
Tel : (202) 332-9044, 332-9049, 332-9045
Fax : (202) 332-9046
Send Email

Head of Mission:
U Tin Win (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary)

Deputy Head of Mission:
U Aung Linn Htut (Counsellor)

New York
Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations
Address1 : 10 EAST 77TH St. N. Y 10021
Tel : (212) 535-1310, 535-1311
Fax : (21) 737-2421
Send Email

Head of Mission:
U Kyaw Tint Swe (Permanent Representative)

Deputy Head of Mission:
U Zeyar Oo (Deputy Permanent Representative)

Featured Baabaabaab comment: Mitchell on the "The world would soon forget?"

In regards to Edgar's Engdahl link in "The world would soon forget?"

Mitchell said...
Edgar's link is temporarily not working, but you can still find Engdahl's essay at Asia Times, and elsewhere.

I do not think that even Engdahl says that "it was outside influences that got the unrest started". Price rises are always good for an angry mob, especially in a place where the state owns everything. And people do not need the US State Department's go-ahead before they start using digital media to smuggle out words and images of a crackdown. (I note that he overlooked "Blog about a blog about a blog about a blog", in his catalog of made-in-USA subversive institutions.)

There are a few other potentially misleading items I can see. The IMF today is far from being the government-toppling economic enforcer it was in Indonesia ten years ago. And "Malabar 07" only got underway four weeks after the demonstrations started. So I would be very cautious in adopting Engdahl's interpretation of world events. (For a further example, go to his website and see his "ex peak oil" essay, especially his remarks about Russian "abiotic oil" expertise being the prize in the Yukos affair.)

October 16, 2007 6:09 PM

The world would soon forget?

“The lesson so far is that sanctions alone are not enough,” said Michael Green, an expert on Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “They must be part of a larger strategy, and it’s not clear yet that the United States or the international community is prepared to put that effort into the diplomatic side.”

He added: “There is always the danger that the indignation you see could fade. The junta may have calculated that this is like pulling a scab off. A brief pain, but the world would soon forget.”
...
Already China has said it considers the protests in Myanmar an internal affair, and it insisted on muting the language of a United Nations Security Council resolution last week that “strongly deplores” the crackdown.
Although China has joined international criticism of the violence, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing told reporters last week, “Sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue in Myanmar.”
India, which has dropped its condemnation of Myanmar in favor of economic competition there with China, sent its strongest signal not through words but through actions. At the height of the protests, India’s oil minister traveled to Myanmar to sign a deal to explore for offshore gas.
Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia, who have been abandoning their policy of “non-interference” in favor of strong words, issued a statement saying they were repulsed and appalled by the use of violence against demonstrators. But none has made a move to cut back on extensive economic ties with Myanmar.
...
Excerpts from U.N. Envoy Says Myanmar Must Halt Arrests

In other Burma news: Rolls-Royce Pull Out of Burma

“We welcome the fact that Rolls-Royce have finally done the decent thing, and cut their ties with this brutal regime,” said Myo Thein, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Companies should not be helping to fund a regime that slaughters its own population. We call on companies such as Total Oil, Chevron, Daewoo, Orient Express and Hutchison Whampoa, owners of 3 Mobile, to follow their example.”Rolls-Royce featured on the ‘Dirty List’ of companies directly or indirectly funding the regime in Burma. The full list can be viewed at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list.php Rolls Royce have now been removed from the list.

Breaking News UPDATE via Edgar: CHOKEPOINT!The Geopolitical Stakes of the Saffron Revolution
Still not sure what to make of this perspective.

Junta Restores Internet Access in Burma

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's (mee-an-MAWRS') military government has restored Internet access and relaxed a nighttime curfew, a partial easing of its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

In related news...

The Global Internet Freedom Consortium (GIF)- an organisation created to help people in China bypass Government censorship of the Internet, says that Burmese web surfers have discovered its facilities and are using them to circumvent Internet censorship amid the recent crackdown by the Myanmar military junta.

The Global Internet Freedom Consortium was formed in 2006 as an alliance of organisations developing and deploying anti-censorship technologies for Internet users in oppressive regimes. The Consortium says it partners "have contributed significantly to the advancement of information freedom in China."

According to GIF, two of its member companies - UltraReach Internet Corp (UR) and Dynamic Internet Technology received over 120,000 average daily hits from IP addresses originating from Burma in September, a sharp increase from less than 40,000 back in August.

Excerpted from Burmese bloggers and surfers discover anti-censorship web technologies


The National's slow drone song.

6 Degrees of Casey Serin – Casey to Than Shwe

Hey Kidz,

In honor of Casey’s reemergence in the “online world” who will not hear from him “for a long long time” let’s play another 6 Degrees of Casey Serin game!

Woohoo!

The latest challenge is Casey to Than Shwe, Burma’s corrupt military dictator.

P.S. Where's M. SINGH?

Free Burma NOW!

Under cover of a curfew, security forces raided monasteries and pagodas across the city. At about 2am, they descended on Ngwe Kya Yan, smashing windows, decapitating statues of Buddha, stealing jewellery and cash and thrashing monks with cudgels.

The next morning, the director-general of Burma's Religious Affairs Department visited the monastery to ask its abbot to leave for the Kaba Aya Pagoda in another part of the city. The engineer, who was there, said the abbot told the official: "I will not abandon this place."

He said: "The director-general told the monks to clean up all the blood, but they refused because they wanted to show what had happened."

At 11.30am, after the official delegation left, the soldiers and police returned with members of an official militia called Masters of Force.

The engineer said: "From every side ... people came out and surrounded the monastery. The soldiers and police inside began to panic because they cannot leave."

- Excerpted from Locals die defending monks


Nepali Monks Rally For Burmese Pals

Free Burma! Petition Widget

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Strange Juxtaposition

Quick update: Gotta love the leadership the U.S. of F-ing A has provided!
Sweet BS La-da-da-da!
Awesome leadership. Where's the applause for this upstanding country of entropic, fat, consumers of perpetual crap?
Yeah, I plan to boycott as much as necessary.


Since Chevron owns Unocal* I found the juxtaposition of their advertising in this Dashing hopes in Myanmar article rather unsettling.

*CCR filed suit against the Unocal oil corporation alleging that it was aware of and supported slave labor, murder, rape and forced relocation of villagers by the Burmese military during the construction of an oil pipeline from Burmese oil fields to Thailand. The parties to several lawsuits related to Unocal's energy investment in the Yadana gas pipeline project in Myanmar/Burma have reached a settlement. Although the terms are confidential, the settlement in principle will compensate plaintiffs and provide funds enabling plaintiffs and their representatives to develop programs to improve living conditions, health care and education and protect the rights of people from the pipeline region.

More on Doe v. Unocal

International Bloggers' Day for Burma on October 4th

Take part in this action for a Free Burma!
1. Publish a posting (Bulletin Board, Forum, Blog, Social Network, Static Website…) on the 4th of October with the header: “Free Burma!”
2. Tag it if you can with “Free Burma”
3. Choose a grafic from our Grafics page and
4. Link to http://www.free-burma.org/ there your readers will find some informations about the campaign and Burma and a participant list which you can join. Even if you're a webmaster of a bulletin board or social network you will find a special Group List to join.
5. Feel free to write any additional text you want
If you have no website or blog we need you even more: Please help us to spread the word across the internet, tell your neighbours, friends or kids and first of all: Sign our list of participants!

Note all of the diamonds Than Shwe's daughter is wearing at her wedding...

8888 Ultimatum to China

Reposted from Burma-Myanmar Genocide 2007:

Ultimatum to China (due Oct 2, 9:00am)
Ultimatum to the Government of People's Republic of China

We are the 8888 student activists overseas who have been relentlessly seeking for the freedom of Burma from the military rule in Burma, side by side with the 8888 generation in Burma since 1988. As you have already known, Burma has become the most important trouble spot in Asia quite sometime. That was why the Burma's crisis drew the attention of the UNSC to do something about it. And, the US and EU's effort to take action against the regime in Burma under the mandate of UNSC was vetoed by China and Russia on Jan 12, 2007.

Nowadays, we have been calling on you to render full and strong support in our cause – restoration of freedom and democracy in Burma – by co-sponsoring with the US for an urgent agenda in the Security Council but we don't see any profound and immediate assistance in this matter from your Regime. Moreover, China and Russia gave a green light to a slaughter of the monks and activists at the last meeting of the U.N. Security Council emergency meeting by simply saying "just an internal affair". As a result, we have no alternative route to gain your sympathy as a fellow Buddhist country or intervention as a good neighbor but declare a war by any all means possible in non-violent ways.

Chinese government always insists that Burma crisis was not a threat to international peace and security, and it is just its own internal affairs. How dare you to say such a thing like that when the whole world has deplored such horrible crimes against the Buddhist Monks, who are in their peaceful procession chanting the hymns about love, forgiveness and reconciliation. What the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a blunt warning to Burma's generals, noting, as he put it," the age of impunity is dead" is absolutely true. We Burmese dissidents and people all over the world have no more vulnerability. Our patience for China is wearing thin. After we defeat China, Russia is to be next if Russia also fails to comply accordingly.

Here is our demand. Chinese Government must play a leading role to stop killing spree in Burma and support UNSC intervention to Burma. The ultimatum for China to join the world's body will be 72 hours starting from September 29, 2007 9:00 am to October 2, 9:00 am US Eastern Time. If China fails to meet our demands, we have decided to wage you the following global campaigns.
1. Boycott 2008 Olympic campaign
2. Boycott China's products.

Please visit our campaign at this link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc2za8K1RUs

We, all Burmese around the world will organize global action against China allied with Tibetans Dissidents, all religious organizations, any government organizations including all Chinese and Russian friends around the world to participate with us.

Victor Naing (88 Generation)

Date: September 29, 2007

P.S. All Oversea Burmese must show the China that we Burmese are how much smart and sharp and unite when we need to do so.

CCs:
H.E. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York
UNSC MEMBERS NATIONS
EU MEMBERS NATIONS
ASEAN MEMBER NATIONS
ALL RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
USCB US CAMPAIGN FOR BURMA
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET
DASSK and National League for Democracy (Burma)
National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (Washington, DC)
National Council of Union of Burma (Thai-Burma border)
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Mr. George W. Bush, President of United State of America
All Burmese Citizens in exile

Boycott Total Oil!

Marching Monks Saffron Revolution!

Download marching monk stencil images and get creative!

Download the marching monks pattern at Saffron Revolution Worldwide and spread the saffron revolution!

How about signing the human rights first petition?

Here are some additional links I was unable to add to the previous post. Blogger doesn't seem to appreciate too many updates.

Blogs
www.xanga.com/dawn_1o9
burmesedayze.blogspot.com

News
http://www.dvb.no/
weunite-weblog.blogspot.com

Help the People of Burma — Post this on Your Blog!

Note: This is a new kind of online protest that uses blogs to spread a petition globally. To participate, just add your blog by following the instructions in this blog post.

This not an issue of partisan politics, this is an issue of basic human rights and democracy. Please help to prevent a human tragedy in Burma by adding your blog and asking others to do the same.

By passing this meme on through the blogosphere hopefully we can generate more awareness and avert a serious tragedy. As concerned world-citizens this something we bloggers can do to help.

How to participate:

1. Copy this entire post to your blog, including this special number: 1081081081234

2. After a few days, you can search Google for the number 1081081081234 to find all blogs that are participating in this protest and petition. Note: Google indexes blogs at different rates, so it could take longer for your blog to show up in the results.

THE SITUATION IN BURMA AND WHY IT MATTERS TO ALL OF US

There is no press freedom in Burma and the government has started turning off the Internet and other means of communication, so it is difficult to get news out. Individuals on the ground have been sending their day-by-day reports to the BBC, and they are heartbreaking. I encourage you to read these accounts to see for yourself what is really going on in Burma. Please include this link in your own blog post.

The situation in Burma is increasingly dangerous. Hundreds of thousands of unarmed peaceful protesters, including monks and nuns, are risking their lives to march for democracy against an unpopular but well-armed military dictatorship that will stop at nothing to continue its repressive rule. While the generals in power and their families are literally dripping in gold and diamonds, the people of Burma are impoverished, deprived of basic human rights, cut off from the rest of the world, and increasingly under threat of violence.

This week the people of Burma have risen up collectively in the largest public demonstrations against the ruling Junta in decades. It’s an amazing show of bravery, decency, and democracy in action. But although these protests are peaceful, the military rulers are starting to crack down with violence. Already there have been at least several reported deaths, and hundreds of critical injuries from soldiers beating unarmed civilians to the point of death.

The actual fatalities and injuries are probably far worse, but the only news we have is coming from individuals who are sneaking reports past the authorities. Unfortunately it looks like a large-scale blood-bath may ensue — and the victims will be mostly women, children, the elderly and unarmed monks and nuns.

Contrary to what the Burmese, Chinese and Russian governments have stated, this is not merely a local internal political issue, it is an issue of global importance and it affects the global community. As concerned citizens, we cannot allow any government anywhere in the world to use its military to attack and kill peacefully demonstrating, unarmed citizens.

In this modern day and age violence against unarmed civilians is unacceptable and if it is allowed to happen, without serious consequences for the perpetrators, it creates a precedent for it to happen again somewhere else. If we want a more peaceful world, it is up to each of us to make a personal stand on these fundamental issues whenever they arise.

Please join me in calling on the Burmese government to negotiate peacefully with its citizens, and on China to intervene to prevent further violence. And please help to raise awareness of the developing situation in Burma so that hopefully we can avert a large-scale human disaster there.

Burmese Pro-Democracy Blogs

Since the topic didn't quite fit fishnets and the "Losingest" horse, this post is reserved for Burmese info, commentary and links.

OPENED LETTER TO MR. GEORGE W. BUSH, MR BAN KI-MOON AND ALL LEADERS OF THE WORLD

DEAR MR. GEORGE W. BUSH, MR BAN KI-MOON AND ALL LEADERS OF THE WORLD
I have written this letter in regards to current political situation of Myanmar.

First I would like to thank you on behalves of all brave people of Myanmar for taking your valuable time to read this.

I am sure you have heard and seen most of the stuff that is currently going on in Myanmar so I will not bore you with a long story.

What media is still not telling the world is that people of Myanmar are now in the great hope for your help and the help of UN.

They have no one else to turn to and their own army is killing them brutally.

And since all their leaders were secretly detained without any warrant, people and sangas are leading the very dangerous demonstration by themselves without proper leadership.

That is exactly what that government wants. They are creating fake chaos activities with their own people impersonating as sangas and civilians in order for them to tell the world that they are just controlling the situation.

Please Mr. Bush and the UN, all the starving and abused people of Myanmar are crying for your help now. I’ve been contacted by many kids from the streets of Myanmar to ask United States and UN to take actions to protect their lives.

Please do not look into this manner as a simple foreign political issue.

What Myanmar is going through now is the crime against human rights.

If you can help in the Middle East issues where people are killing each other using guns, you should absolutely help our people with their bare hands, who are being tortured and shot to death on the city streets and in their own homes.

We understand you have sent a few sanctions to Myanmar Juntas before but they always lied as if they would correspond but ignored to the whole world.

Even thou they have began to communicate with UN now, yet they are still giving orders to shoot the peaceful sangas and innocent people on the streets.

Please help us Mr. Bush, Mr. Ban Ki-moon and all leaders of the world,

We have no weapons or protections.

Please…..

Give us a right to live freely.

With all due respect

People Of Myanmar

Posted by Myo Chit at 10:06 PM

Blogs
http://mizzimaburmese.blogspot.com/
http://soneseayar.blogspot.com/
http://www.oppositeye.blogspot.com/
http://www.niknayman.blogspot.com/
http://mmedwatch.blogspot.com/
http://www.yoma3.org/
http://www.hittaing.org/
http://picasaweb.google.com/myanmarhistory
http://www.thitsarforce.org/
http://www.khitpyaing.org/

English Language
http://www.ko-htike.blogspot.com/
http://dathana.blogspot.com/
http://burmamyanmargenocide.blogspot.com/
http://www.myochitmyanmar.blogspot.com/

Burma-Related News
http://www.mizzima.com/
http://www.irrawaddy.org/

Myanmar: Soldiers back down in Mandalay
Soldiers from #33 Battalion knelt down and requested the protesting monks to stop the protest.
Monks from Mandalay monasteries including those from “ThaTaNa” monk college marched for protest and were blocked at 42nd street by soldiers of #33 battalion.
Many of the monks replied, “You may shoot but we will still march”, and carried on with their marches.
The soldiers knelt down, shed tears and finally they stepped down to let the monks go, reported the witnesses from Mandalay.

Burmese Monks Stage Fresh Protests Against Doubled Fuel Costs

NYT UPDATE: The monks gave authorities a Monday deadline to apologize for beating hundreds of them two weeks ago when they marched peacefully in Pakokku, a center of Buddhist learning, to protest the rising fuel and consumer prices. The apology never came.

While we have been wasting billions of dollars "bringing democracy" to Iraq, Burma has been largely ignored* for nearly 20 years despite their activism.

...It is the latest in a wave of protests across Burma that began last month, when authorities doubled fuel prices.
Monastic leaders have threatened to hold more demonstrations, starting on Tuesday, unless the military apologises for beating monks at an earlier rally.
The monks at that protest, in the town of Pakokku, held about 20 security officials captive for several hours to complain about their treatment.
The group planning protests on Tuesday - The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks - has urged its followers to boycott the military government.
The monks have been asked to refuse alms and offerings from anyone connected to the military.
Analysts say the boycott will be taken very seriously in Burma, because the nation's 400,000 monks are held in high esteem.
A similar protest by monks in 1988 led to a big uprising against military rule...
Burma monks stage fresh protests, BBC News

*Note: Rare U.S. meeting occurred this summer.

UPDATE!
In other news I really liked this short Irish film...

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos Funny Cartoons Comedy Central