22 December 2007

GOOD AFTERNOON MYANMAR…

0430 by Jeff Hess

United States President Andrew Jackson had his Kitchen Cabinet and now United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has his own informal group of advisers tagged as the Group of Friends of Myanmar. The 14-nation group met on 19 December to assist Ki-Moon with tacking problems in Myanmar. From Mizzima News:

While the formation of the loose forum, ‘Group of Friends of the General-Secretary on Myanmar’, is the latest move by the World body chief for changes in Burma, critics said, all plans and action must bring result.

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Altsean-Burma, a network of regional campaigners, said, “For any forum or group working on Burma, the most important thing is to influence the military junta and to bring substantive result on changes.”

While welcoming the formation of the forum, Stothard said, the group should add to the increasing pressure and member nations of the forum should exercise its individual leverage to impress upon the Burmese junta.

“We will judge any group with the result that it produces,” added Stothard.

The members of the group are: Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam.

Do you think anyone is missing?

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

22 December 2007

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0400 by Jeff Hess

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 Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations From Sufi Wisdom by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut.

“Do not waste your time in grief and regret; opportunity is precious and time is a sword.” – Sadi p. 14

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22 December 2007

DON’T FORGET BURMA NO. 40…

0230 by Jeff Hess

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22 December 2007

TIME POWER: TODAY…

0001 by Jeff Hess

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: When you are faced with an event that you think you cannot control and you”ve tested and checked in every way to see if you might control it and conclude that you can”t, you must adapt. Adaptability is the most appropriate action. p. 10

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21 December 2007

JOHN LENNON, HAPPY CHRISTMAS WAR IS OVER…

2359 by Jeff Hess

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21 December 2007

GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…

2030 by Jeff Hess

On Thursday I wrote about how girls and young women from Myanmar are being sold and shipped north to become brides for Chinese men who can’t find women in their own country because of the ill-conceived one-child policy. Now the military dictators have the chutzpah to blame human trafficking on sanctions.

From Reuters:

International sanctions against Myanmar hurt only ordinary people and have caused a rise in human trafficking, a senior government minister and general said on Friday.

A bloody crackdown by the military government in September on peaceful pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks resulted in the United States and European Union tightening already wide-ranging sanctions on Myanmar.

But Interior Minister Major General Maung Oo, speaking on the sidelines of an anti-human trafficking conference in Beijing in rare comments to the foreign press, said such measures were counterproductive.

“Because of economic sanctions on us, some factories have had to be closed. The women who work there are now jobless. This is one of the push factors in making them becoming trafficking victims,” Maung Oo told reporters.

Rights groups say poverty has fuelled a rise in Myanmar nationals being trafficked or simply sold, some as prostitutes in neighbouring Thailand and China.

This was the same kind of rational Saddam Hussein used prior to the Iraq war. He claimed that it was the children in Iraq who were suffering. One of the lessons we learned after our invasion and occupation of Iraq was that children were suffering, but not because of sanctions.

“Within Yangon alone, about 40 factories have been closed. You can imagine the problems,” he added, speaking through an interpreter. “80,000 workers have lost their jobs.”

The minister did not elaborate.

I wonder what they manufactured? I wonder who was the primary beneficiary of the profits from those factories?

Do you think sanctions work?

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

21 December 2007

MY COMMENTS…

2013 by Jeff Hess

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.

2008 Runner will challenge Taser use at Kings Island resort…

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21 December 2007

FRIDAY FLASH FUN…

1700 by Jeff Hess

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21 December 2007

MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…

1400 by Jeff Hess

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 The Story Of Stuff.

Posted in Blogpile | 2 Comments »

21 December 2007

GOOD NIGHT MYANMAR…

1230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar, Video | No Comments »

21 December 2007

ANOTHER READER CHIMES IN…

0800 by Jeff Hess

As most of you have figured out by now, my dad isn’t the only one who sends me fun stuff via email. My brother (and I hope, a regular reader), Chris, decided make some of us laugh this morning. Don’t worry, there still plenty of stuff to come From My Dad, but occasionally I’ll toss a few from the reast of you into the hopper as well.

I was sitting next to a blonde and she was reading the newspaper. I glanced over and one of the headlines read “12 Brazilian Soldiers Killed.” She was shaking her head at the news. She turned to me and asked “How many is a Brazilian?”

Posted in From My Dad, Humor | No Comments »

21 December 2007

GOOD AFTERNOON MYANMAR…

0430 by Jeff Hess

The Philippines continues to look askance to fellow Association of South East Asian Nations member Myanmar and its Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo cautioned journalists during a luncheon that the ratification of the recently signed charter hangs on the sincerity of Myanmar’s generals.

From The Manila Times:

Romulo said Myanmar promised compliance with a roadmap to democracy 10 or 11 years ago, “and they have been repeating the promise every year. But every year since Secretary [Domingo] Siazon was there, it”s up to them, not the nine members. We are just waiting.”

Among those [actions] being asked from Myanmar is the release of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, and government”s negotiations with her and her political party, National League for Democracy as a “genuine political force.”

It puzzles me that Suu Kyi, because she has become the lightning rod for the pro-Democracy movement in Myanmar, remains under house arrest. This limbo status is the worst of all worlds for the generals. She is the issue the can not void.

Romulo said they may or may not seek the ratification of the ASEAN Charter in Congress, but they are hoping that Myanmar would follow the preconditions.

“We told the ASEAN members that we may have a difficult time in getting our treaty-making body in the legislature to ratify and concur with the ASEAN Charter unless there are really major steps in implementing the roadmap to democracy,” he said.

Is this all because the generals refuse to stop and ask for directions?

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

21 December 2007

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0400 by Jeff Hess

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 Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations From Sufi Wisdom by Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut.

From the consequences of what I have done,
From the dangers of the future,
I see no way out.
Lord, I am terrified of the evil in me.
Teach me how to save myself
From the traps of self.
Take me by the hand –
Without Your mercy
I have nothing to turn to.

– Sheikh Anasari

p. 9

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21 December 2007

DON’T FORGET BURMA NO. 39…

0230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

21 December 2007

TIME POWER: TODAY…

0001 by Jeff Hess

Today, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about: When you are faced with an event that you think you cannot control and you”ve tested and checked in every way to see if you might control it and conclude that you can”t, you must adapt. Adaptability is the most appropriate action. p. 10

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20 December 2007

GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…

2030 by Jeff Hess

Amidst all the long list of sanctions imposed on Myanmar in the last three months, one item has gone missing: weapons. Deprived of ammunition for its weapons and spare parts for its equipment, no country that is a net importer of weapons can hold on for long. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) know that.

From Sen. Durbin’s office:

A bipartisan group of 48 Senators, lead by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ), today, asked the President to support an international arms embargo against Burma. In a letter to the White House, the Senators urged the President to press the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and to continue to support the efforts of thousands of Burmese citizens fighting for democratic change.

“In September, thousands of Burmese took to the streets to peacefully protest for change,” the Senators wrote. “Tragically, the Burmese military government violently suppressed the peaceful protests, ignoring the overwhelming demands for reform issued by its own people and by the global community. No responsible nation should provide weapons to a regime as reprehensible as the one found in Burma.”

The Senators asked the President to support binding measures that will stop the inflow of weapons to the Burmese military – weapons that the military uses to further its decades long junta. An international arms embargo has widespread support from human rights groups, members of the European Union and broad bipartisan support within the Congress.

If we could just figure out how to stop the manufacture of the 5.45, 5.56 and 7.62 mm cartridges, we’d go a long way to stopping most conflicts in their tracks.

How do you think we should do that?

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar | No Comments »

20 December 2007

MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…

1400 by Jeff Hess

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 The Zen Mind.

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20 December 2007

GOOD NIGHT MYANMAR…

1230 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Free Burma, Myanmar, Video | No Comments »

20 December 2007

FROM THE SANDBOX…

1200 by Jeff Hess

Eddie: In the past few months, I can honesty say that I have not been on any raids. Not that raids were not happening, it just worked out to where I didn’t end up on any. It seemed as if for me there was going to be no more kicking in doors, rushing into homes/businesses and all the craziness and excitement that comes with them. It has been so long since…

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20 December 2007

IT’S MAGIC…!

1121 by Jeff Hess

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