Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: Rationalization is living incongruently with unifying principles, and it is the worst of all time wasters. p. 28

I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around the message United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari delivered to the U.N. Security Council this week. After three trips to Myanmar to speak with the military dictators of that country yielded no concrete results, Gambari somehow remains hopeful that future talks may bring positive results.

From Mizzima News:

New Delhi – Ibrahim Gambari, UN special envoy to Burma, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that he is disappointed that his latest visit to the Southeast Asian nation did not yield any ‘tangible result’.

Gambari, who wound up his latest visit to Burma last week, however, said it is important that the United Nations continue to engage with Burma’s ruling junta.

Gambari, who is reporting to the UNSC on his March 6 to 10 visit to Burma, said, “Since assuming responsibilities for the Myanmar dossier, I have never been under any illusion that the engagement process will be smooth sailing.”

“Indeed, over time, my engagement with my interlocutors has been difficult, complex, frustrating, but nevertheless incremental and continuing,” added Gambari. Continue Reading »

I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is 14 Simple Ways to Convert Your Sedentary Lifestyle.

Gruntshit: Recently, Duncan Crookston passed away. He had been severely wounded in the EFP attack that killed Joel Murray, David Lane, and Randy Shelton, and also wounded Joseph Mixson. When Duncan was evaced that night they had told us that he wouldn’t make it through the night. He fought hard for five months. He had the Doctors at BAMC* perplexed…

I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.

(Continued from yesterday.) Ole is just getting over the shock of losing two friends when Lars appears.

Watcha lookin’ down here for? I told you dere’s no more!

But here is the stark reality: there is a security gap in this country – a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions. A gap between Washington experience, and the wisdom of Washington”s judgments. A gap between the rhetoric of those who tout their support for our troops, and the overburdened state of our military.

It is time to have a debate with John McCain about the future of our national security. And the way to win that debate is not to compete with John McCain over who has more experience in Washington, because that”s a contest that he”ll win. The way to win a debate with John McCain is not to talk, and act, and vote like him on national security, because then we all lose. The way to win that debate and to keep America safe is to offer a clear contrast, and that”s what I will do when I am the nominee of the Democratic Party – because since before this war in Iraq began, I have made different judgments, I have a different vision, and I will offer a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past. Continue Reading »

I, and others, have written about Myanmar’s focus on the Internet, bloggers and a free flow of information concerning national and international news for the country. Yesterday, however, people in Myanmar, as well as those living in exile, received a harsh lesson about trusting too much in the bloggosphere and reading news online.

From The Irrawaddy:

Burmese are not easily taken in by misinformation spread by their military rulers, but when it comes to the Internet, many are just beginning to learn the perils of putting too much faith in what they read.

Other details were “sketchy at the moment” but the report went on to say that the singer”s body had been taken to West Ealing Hospital and “a detail post morten [sic] will be carrying out on Monday evening.” Continue Reading »

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Midrash and Literature edited by Geoffrey H. Hartman and Sanford Budick.

Enclitic: (of a word) closely connected with the preceding word and not having an independent accent or phonological status. (see Proclitic) [15]

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: A unifying principle is a gold nugget of truth used as a guide for goal planning and living. p 25

Now that United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari is back in New York after a third attempt to talk some sense into the military dictators of Myanmar, it has become increasingly evident that Gambari and his boss Ban Ki-moon don’t have a next option. I have to wonder if anyone in the U.N. ever actually believed the generals would cave.

From The Irrawaddy:

The UN special envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, met the UN General Assembly president, Srgjan Kerim, on Monday and briefed him on his recent trip to Burma and the progress of his efforts to nudge the country towards a restoration of democracy and protection of human rights.

Now that the approach of “dialogue and accommodation” has demonstrably failed, the United Nations appears to be set to review its Burma policy. Continue Reading »

I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is Feeling Stuck? 100 Ways to Change your Life.

CAPT Beau Cleland: Three months down, twelve to go. Piece of cake, right? My little Excel spreadsheet that tracks our time remaining here by percentage, days, minutes, and seconds is smoothly ticking down. We’ve broken 80%! It seems like things are going fast until you consider how much is truly remaining on this thing. Summer is coming — hot, dusty…

Part of being a good citizen of the blogosphere is visiting, reading and, most importantly, taking the time to leave a comment on other’s blogs. It’s all about the conversation. In the interest of setting an example I’ve decided to link to those blog posts that have compelled me to leave a comment.

1033 Barack Obama speech highlights The Problem With People

It’s been a busy week in Wally World: the Universe’s source of cheap plastic crap. On The Writing On The Wal — the blog USA Today says should be on its readers’ radar — Jonathan Rees, Robert Feinman, Peter Sayles and I continue our work dedicated to drawing back the curtain on the Bentonvile Behemoth’s corporate disinformation and other flackery.

HAS WAL-MART BECOME A TARGET OF BIGOTS…? On Sunday, Jonathan reported on Wal-Mart”s introduction of Middle Eastern products in its store in Dearborn, Michigan. I saw the post, and the Newsweek story that prompted it, as similar to Wal-Mart”s marketing to Hispanic shoppers. Keep reading…

WAL-MART: THE FAMILY VALUES KILLER… There are a lot of accusations leveled against Wal-Mart. That it exploits workers and destroys local businesses are just two of the most common. But the community of Monsey, New York, took a broader approached to keeping a supercenter out. Keep reading…

WAL-MART MAKES ANOTHER VEGAN CONVERT…? In blogger Joey Flash”s case, the Wal-Mart meat revulsion factor probably isn”t that severe, but from his post about buying a rotisserie chicken at Wal-Mart, it comes close. I love roasted chickens and buy them fairly often from my independent grocer. Keep reading…

WAL-MART FLUSHES $1,032,573012.61…? Why haven”t journalists bothered to question this statement: Since its launch in September 2006, [Wal-Mart”s $4 prescription] program has now saved Americans more than $1 billion ($1,032,573,012.61 as of March 10, 2008)? Keep reading…

FANATICS FLINGING FACE FOAM… I seriously hope that Wal-Mart doesn”t cave to the fanatics attacking it for stocking Middle Eastern foods in a portion of one aisle the way it did to the christianists over an arrangement with the National Gay And Lesbian Chamber Of Commerce. Keep reading…

SHANK GIVES CLINTON $470,000 VIA WAL-MART… Sometimes the juxtaposition of headlines and ledes can take the reader to strange places. That”s what happened to me this morning as I scanned the news wires for all news Wal-Mart. I was all set to write a followup story about Deborah Shank. Keep reading…

IS WAL-MART GOOD FOR ASIA…? Two headlines caught my attention this morning. The first was, Wal-Mart targets South Asian market. The second was, Is Wal-Mart Good For Asia? The former touts a Bollywood inspired clothing line. The latter explores Wal-Mart”s role in the diverse Asian market. Keep reading…

I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog chuckle I present: From My Dad.

(Continued from yesterday.) Moments later Knute arrives up at the cliffs.

BUT VAIT!!! Dere’s MORE , you betcha!! (Coming tomorrow.)

Compared to those of other repressive regimes, the borders of Myanmar positively porous and refugees flee south into Thailand and west into India to escape the oppression. This is one of the reasons we know so much about, even when the generals manage to block Internet access, what is going on inside the country.

From The Morung Express:

Thonhlei Zing, a 23-year-old agricultural labourer and four of her friends from Hnian Lawn village in Myanmar”s Chin state arrived in India this January 1. They walked three days in the jungle barefoot, swam the Tio River to cross the border, exchanged the Burmese kyats for rupees at the black market in the border town of Champhai and boarded a bus to Aizawl city, the capital of India”s border state Mizoram – tough, but the most popular itinerary for Myanmarese refugees crossing India”s unfenced international border. In their desperate attempt to escape the country, unaccounted numbers of ethnic Chin people in Myanmar”s western provinces like Sagaing Division and Chin state are fleeing to India since the military crackdown on Buddhist monks in September 2007.

Zing and her friends sat with swollen feet in a crammed one-room house in Aizawl. “The military is unbearable like never before,” said Zing. She was a bonded labourer in the military operated tea plantations. Zing was hardly given food, let alone payment. The sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries have hit Myanmar”s economy severely. In a desperate move, the junta sold its mineral and oil fields to Chinese and Indian companies and began aggressive cultivation of cash crops by taking over villagers” land. Tea and castor, a poisonous spurge seed used to make vegetable oil, are the most common military plantations in western Myanmar. Zing escaped one such plantation near Hakha Township in Chin state. Continue Reading »