April 03, 2004

• for talks on May 17 with the pro-democracy party Darn it.
• Her life is a very moving story - particularly how she was not able to see her husband before he died. My Burmese history is very weak though - this timeline helped.
• Good post, thanks. Anybody interested in Burma should read From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe, a member of the Padaung hill tribe (the ones whose women traditionally wear those coils of metal on their necks) who went to Mandalay for college and fell in love with James Joyce, a Burman girl named Moe, and the idea of a free and multiethnic Burma. (Quotes from the early chapters about his childhood are available here.)
• Thanks for those links. The picturesreminded me of this fantastic flash piece: Burma: Grace Under Pressure.
• More Burma stories: Burma maintains bygone buildings Myanmar creates world's largest tiger reserve
• homunculus - that was amazing. I have to wonder - I have heard people talk about how the non-violent resistence is the most effective resistence against an oppressor, but only when that oppressor has their own rules, particularly rule of law. But if the oppressor is willing to rewrite law and/or kill anyone in their way, then non-violent resistence is crushed. Could this be the case in Burma? I hope not.
• Fantastic post, homunculus. Both fascinating and heartbreaking. Stories like these help me keep things in perspective. I'll try to remember this whenever I start bitching about my own government.
• One of the many conflicts in Burma now has had to deal with the Military's deals with energy suppliers. Thes companies (most notably Unoal) have turned a blund eye while the military empolyed rape and frorced beatings to force townspeople to work on the pjojects.
• Crazy old justice system we've got here, eh?
• All I can say is "FUCKING BASTARDS!" Unbelievable. Also, is it a good idea to have SS guys who have never even heard of the ACLU? I guess for Ashcroft, it's probably better not to surround himself with anyone who's too bright.
• Hmm, I really shouldn't post when I'm that sleepy. Sorry about all the typos.
• A critical moment for Myanmar
• Two senior members of Burma's opposition party have been released from house arrest.
• Who else likes waffle?
• ...more of the same for Suu Kyi...
• Maybe next week?
• Myanmar: Shooting itself in the foot
• Burma opposition to boycott talks
• Blaming the victim again: ...not a fundamental part of the process... Nor can the lady be, with the government in Rangoon keeping her prisoner.
• Aung San Suu Kyi marks year in detention, Myanmar outlook 'bleak'
• "India is far from comfortable with the presence of nuclear weapons in neighboring Pakistan and China. Now comes word that another neighbor, military-ruled Myanmar, has inked a deal with North Korea for construction of a nuclear reactor." It sounds like Burma is determined to get into the Axis of Evil.
• Protests mark Suu Kyi's birthday
• Happy birthday to that magnificent woman who is probably never going to read this.
• US Senate approves renewal of sanctions against Myanmar
• I hope we're not just spitting into the wind with sanctions, since sanctions tend to make life harder for the ordinary citizens. It'd be nice to know what Suu Kyi's opinion is.
• A Supreme Court decision today reaffirmed the ATCA, which means that Doe v. Unocal, which I linked about above, can proceed (Bush and Blair are probably not pleased.)
• (Well, they're probably pleased about the main decision, but not the affirming of the ATCA.)
• Despite U.S. Penalties, Burmese Junta Refuses to Budge
• This is why I'm glad tracicle doesn't close commenting after 30 days (like some sites I could name). Thanks for your continuing efforts, homunculus.
• My pleasure (despite the subject), languagehat.
• China-SE Asia: Shades of tribute diplomacy
• Myanmar's hardline generals gain the upper hand
• A Big Win for Human Rights (in the Unocal case).
• But Suu Kyi remains imprisoned.
• They're interviewing the people who made Unocal settle on Nightline right now.
• Here's an interview with Suu Kyi from a few years ago.
• Burma uses western tools to censor web
• Thanks for keeping this updated!!!
• Soothsayer orders new capital Okay...
• Is Burma the Next Iran?
• China's uneasy alliance with Myanmar
• Chinlone!
• UN official meets Burma's Suu Kyi Well, at least she's still alive.
• Burma extends Suu Kyi's detention
• Orwellian state, with teashops
• The Crackdown Continues
• Burma bans Google
• Aung San Suu Kyi doomed?
• If only Burma had big oilfields then they would have a chance of getting real help from the west.
• Maung Thura is a big, bald, cheerful man, with a deep voice and a very dangerous job. He also prefers Benny Hill to Mr Bean.
• How conservationists prop up Burma's military regime.
• Burma: State of Fear
• Burmese outraged at lavish junta wedding
• Forced Labor in Burma
• Burma Shuts Red Cross Field Offices
• Argentina, Burma, and International Solidarity
• Just wanted to tip my hat to you again. Keep posting!
• *returns languagehat's salute* *wonders which hat he's wearing, anyway*
• Dictator Slays Millions In Last-Minute Push To Be Time's Man Of The Year He must have really hated Time's final choice.
• PATRIOT Overreaches: Who Knew?
• Double veto for Burma resolution
• Biologist Alan Rabinowitz battles the status quo and the ticking clock of his health to make Myanmar a refuge for tigers.
• What to do about Burma -- Thant Myint-U writes in the LRB, arguing once again for his sometimes controversial view that Burma would best be served by constructive engaement.
• Naypyidaw unveiled.
• Betraying "Democracy" in Burma
• Burmese Daze: My Date with a Transvestite Spirit Medium
• Violent Attacks on Rights Activists: Government Militias Beat and Harass Opponents
• Playing electrical Russian roulette
• Yikes. I had no idea what to expect when guessing what electrical Russian roulette was.
• Reminds me of a couple of years ago. The power went out at a remote scuba diving "resort" (to use the term loosely) in Honduras where we were vacationing. Turned out that thieves had disconnected and stolen the electric power meter! I hadn't realized there was a resale value on those things.
• In his quest to free slaves around the world, Aaron Cohen thought he’d seen it all. Then he went to Myanmar. An amazing feature article from the LA Weekly.
• It is an amazing article. The OC Weekly has the same article and a short slide show.
• Myanmar Protesters March Despite Arrests
• Further protests have been held in Burma over fuel price rises, despite the arrest of more than 60 activists by the military since last week.
• Naypyidaw: Abode of Kings in a Broken-Down Kingdom
• Twenty Burmese security officials who were taken captive for several hours by Buddhist monks have been released.
• Free Burma Rangers (Video)
• "The voices of open dissent raised against the military regime in Burma represent a test for the international community as much as the will of the Burmese people, says Aung Zaw, editor of the online journal Irrawaddy."
• Burma's largest anti-junta protest in nearly two decades takes place in Rangoon, led by Buddhist monks and nuns.
• Burmese military threatens monks: Burma's ruling military junta has warned it is ready to "take action" against Buddhist monks leading mounting protests, state media have reported.
• And again today. Something's got to give, surely?
• Myanmar troops pour into Yangon after protests "In another possible sign of a looming confrontation, a well-placed source said detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to the notorious Insein prison on Sunday, a day after she appeared in front of her house to greet marching monks."
• Photos
• Barefoot Against The Junta
• Burma riot police beat protesters
• Several thousand Burmese monks and other protesters have begun a new march in Rangoon despite a baton charge by police at the city's holiest shrine.
• And the government is now using machine guns to clear the streets. Let's hope they don't kill their Gandhis and Mandelas.
• At least five monks have been killed... For fucks sake... I was hoping it would never come to this. A big 'ol .
• Ah, crap.
• Cracks Showing in Burma's Junta
• Burma monasteries in night raids: Burmese security forces storm monasteries and arrest scores of monks after days of protests, witnesses say.
• Nine people have been killed amid a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Burma's main city of Rangoon, state television has reported.
• Nine people have been killed amid a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Burma's main city of Rangoon The dead included eight protesters and a Japanese man identified by Japan's APF News as Kenji Nagai, a video journalist. This is not going to go down well with Japan. Fuck me, look at him, he kept taking pictures after he was shot... *pulls out some tissue*
• Sorry, homunculus... I didn't preview
• No problem. Damn, that's a stunning picture.
• Phone lines, Internet, cut off in Burma as protests rage
• Rangoon Under Siege
• Storm Over Burma Could Spell Olympic Boycott
• UK fears Burma toll 'far higher'
• Burma Explodes, But Who Will Pull the Plug?
• Eyes in the Skies Document Human Rights Violations in Burma
• You beat me to the punch, h-dogg. Here's a direct link to the pdf report.
• I'm getting a 509 error from the Irrawaddy site (exceeded bandwidth). Speaks to the global interest, hope they get it sorted out. Feel I should offer to contact host and pony up some cash.
• This might be why: The Irrawaddy’s Web site Disabled by Virus
• Firms Seek Access to Burma Oil Fields Despite Bloody Crackdown
• Monks Sentenced to Six Years Imprisonment; Rangoon, Mandalay Locked Down by Troops
• New protests on Rangoon streets
• UN envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari has met detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the main city of Rangoon.
• Lessons from the Burmese uprising: The military crackdown in Burma is a reminder that street demonstrations do not necessarily lead to success for popular uprisings.
• Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle
• Ugh, that's a tough read.
• Thousands of monks detained in Burma's main city of Rangoon will be sent to prisons in the far north of the country, sources have told the BBC.
• Lone Remaining Burmese Blogger Uses Lightweight Messaging Service to Broadcast to the World
• The repression is turning ugly behind closed doors...
• Burma Update: Monks Dying for Freedom
• The Saffron Olympics: The slaughtered monks of Burma will haunt China.
• Thanks for the excellent linking in this thread, homunculus. I've been so tied up the past couple days, and this is one issue that I cannot simply let fade into the background... you're helping me immensely!
• No problem, sugarmilktea. I can't let this fade either.
• Chevron’s Pipeline is the Burmese Regime’s Lifeline
• Hitchens: Maintained in China: Burma's foul regime depends on Beijing.
• Pressure mounts on Western oil companies profiting under repression
• From Chevron's 2006 "Human Rights Statement": We condemn human rights abuses. So, they should have no problem bailing out of Burma, right?
• Global Hypocrisy on Burma
• Chevron's links to Burma stir critics to demand it pull out
• Scores of Burmese have been arrested overnight, dragging people from their homes in the middle of the night and letting others know they were marked for retribution. "We have photographs! We are going to make arrests!"
• Junta hunts dissidents on UN computers
• Secret cremations hide Burma killings