1 December 2007
1 December 2007
FROM THE SANDBOX…
1200 by Jeff Hess
Combat Doc: Lots of people say they want to go to war. Some people watch too many movies. Many join and are just where they need to be. You never know how you’re going to react to something until that something happens. Most who join are exactly who they think they are, and the fact that they came in shows their worth. The sight of the reality for the first…
1 December 2007
FROM MY DAD…
0800 by Jeff Hess
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.
TOP TEN THOUGHTS FOR 2007
No. 10: Life is sexually transmitted.
No. 9: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
No. 8: Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
No. 7: Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.
No. 6: Some people are like a Slinky, not really good for anything, but you still can’t help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
No. 5: Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
No. 4: All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
No. 3: Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut saves you 30 cents?
No. 2: In the ’60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE NO. 1 THOUGHT FOR 2007: We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven’t got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.
And the BONUS thought for today: “Life is like a jar of jalapeños. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow”.
1 December 2007
GOOD AFTERNOON MYANMAR…
0430 by Jeff Hess
Two days before World AIDS Day and without explanation or any stated legal justification, the military government of Myanmar raided a monestary in Yangon and evicted the monks along with the AIDS/HIV patients for which they provided hospice care. The monestary remains sealed, said the National League for Democracy; Aung Thein.
From Reuters:
“The authorities did not give them any documents and did not say under which law the action was taken, so we cannot do anything to provide them with legal assistance,” [Thein] added.
United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari criticised the closure of the monastery, which was used as a hospice for HIV/AIDS sufferers and a refuge for provincial patients who came to Yangon for medicines.
“Any actions that run counter to the spirit of national reconciliation, any action that will undermine the dialogue between the government and those who disagree with the policy of the government should be avoided,” Gambari said in Phnom Penh.
And that would be, Mr. Envoy?
The abbots of Maggin monastery have long had the reputation of supporting pro-democracy campaigns, such as the one led by monks in September which the junta crushed ruthlessly.
The suppression caused such international outrage the junta allowed Gambari to visit and it appointed a senior general as intermediary with Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the past 18 years under some form of detention.
Gambari is due to make his third visit to Myanmar in December since the street protests were ended, but he said in Phnom Penh no dates had been fixed yet.
Nor anything else.
1 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 Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the border between science and spirituality by John Horgan.
“Enlightenment does not give you any kind of final knowledge, [German Anthropologist Christian] Ratsch said. Quite the contrary. You see that the search for truth and meaning is endless. If the search for knowledge stops, you”re basically – Ratsch paused – dead as a living, exploring being. The universe produces people like us to learn about itself. This self-exploring process goes on and on and on. And nobody knows where it goes and what happens. And I think that”s part of enlightenment, to understand that there is no aim.” p. 150
1 December 2007
1 December 2007
TIME POWER: TODAY…
0001 by Jeff HessToday, as I go about my tasks, I’ll think about Selections from One-Hundred-One Time Management Goals:
1. Using my unifying principles, evaluate my present performance.
7. Make preriodic checks to be sure I am enjoyng a balanced perspective.
8. Ask myself periodically, What is the greatest threat to my survival spiritually, professionally, financially, socially, intellectually and physically? Then plan accordingly.
30 November 2007
30 November 2007
WHAT THEY SAID…
2102 by Jeff HessAfterwards, Luntz asked the group why they seemed to be in favor of torture. “I don’t have any problem pouring water on the face of a man who killed 3000 Americans on 9/11,” said John Shevlin, a retired federal law enforcement officer. The group applauded, appallingly. Joel Klein
30 November 2007
GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…
2030 by Jeff HessTyrants often fear the poem more than the gun, the poet more than the freedom fighter. This was clearly the case under the authoritarian government of the Soviet Union where poetry was rigorously controlled. The military dictators in Myanmar understand the dangers and are exerting themselves to ensure it does not flourish.
From the Democratic Voice Of Burma:
A Burmese poet facing a second trial for publishing politically sensitive material, despite having already been punished for the offense earlier this year, has fled to the Thai-Burma border.
Kyaw Thu Moe Myint was given a 30,000 kyat fine and served 12 days in prison for illegally circulating sensitive information after he distributed a small collection of 11 poems to mark Valentine”s day, two of which mentioned independence hero general Aung San.
He was told in early November that he would be tried again for the same offense, and could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
Kyaw Thu Moe Myint, from Kyauk Se, Mandalay division, told DVB that he had left the country rather than face more time in prison.
A government that would imprison its nation’s poets has no legitimacy.
30 November 2007
30 November 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 Atom and The Illusion of Reality.
30 November 2007
30 November 2007
WHAT THEY SAID…
1216 by Jeff HessGee, sentenced to be deported. You”re really twisting the ol” knife there, Sudan. No doubt after being arrested on a bullshit blasphemy charge, threatened with forty lashes and six months in prison, and then packed off to a prison for two weeks where she”s likely to encounter physical violence and may just contract malaria-I”m sure after enduring all that, Sudan, remaining in your shithole country was Gibbons” fondest wish.
This whole mess cries out for a Teddy Roosevelt. Enough with the “expressions of displeasure” from the diplomats. Someone in the British government needs to deliver a “Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!” speech on Gibbons” behalf. And mean it.
Before I go home tonight I”m going to pop across the street to the new Crypt, buy myself a buttplug, and name the fucking thing Mohammed. Dan Savage
30 November 2007
FROM THE SANDBOX…
1200 by Jeff HessEddie: Thanksgiving is a time when we give thanks for the things we have, and remember that some of the most important things we have are those that we have always had or will always have; our friends and family. But this year, I have a little something more to be thankful for. The last couple patrols I went on were the first I had done since being back…
30 November 2007
WHAT THEY SAID…
1155 by Jeff Hess$10.65 an hour is an assertion by Wal-Mart management. Did any reporter bother to try to verify it from a second source, e.g. the new employees themselves (or non-hires who got interviewed)? Because, you know, real journalists have standards. Bill Callahan
30 November 2007
MY COMMENTS…
0915 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.
2040 (Updated) If I laugh, just a little bit – am I being offensive?
0912 movers and shakers
30 November 2007
WHAT THEY SAID…
0905 by Jeff HessThe Virginia Republicans are getting desperate. They just got permission from the State Board of Elections on Monday to require that all voters in their primary sign an oath promising to vote for the Republican candidate in the general election before they”re allowed to cast a ballot. Looks like they”re afraid that if they put forth an unacceptable candidate (Mitt? Rudy?), the faithful will defect to, God forbid, an independent (Ron Paul?) or worse, a Democrat (Obama?). Terry Kanago
30 November 2007
FROM MY DAD…
0800 by Jeff HessI 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.
10 Ways to tell if a Redneck has been working on a Computer
10. The monitor is up on blocks.
9. Outgoing faxes have tobacco stains on them.
8. The six front keys have rotted out.
7. The extra RAM ports have truck parts stored in them.
6. The numeric keypad only goes up to six.
5. The password is “Bubba”.
4. There’s a gun rack mounted on the CPU.
3. There’s a Coors can in the cup holder(CD-ROM drive).
2. The keyboard is camouflaged.
And, the No. 1 way to tell if a redneck has been working on a computer is…
1. The mouse is referred to as a “critter”.
30 November 2007
GOOD AFTERNOON MYANMAR…
0430 by Jeff HessI’ve been writing extensively about the predominantly Buddhist peoples of Myanmar, but other faith systems are represented within the country’s borders. This morning I read about the Rohingyas, a stateless people living in the western part of Myanmar. The Rohingyas are Muslims and denied citizenship by the military dictators of Myanmar.
From The Economist:
As unrest in Myanmar kindled flickering hopes of political change, long-suffering refugees in Bangladesh were glued to their radios. They hope for a chance to reclaim their land and their dignity. Sadly, they may be waiting in vain. Not only are there scant signs of change from the repressive ruling junta. But these are also Rohingyas, members of a poor Muslim minority never very welcome at home.
The junta’s persecution of Muslims has been extreme. But anti-Muslim sentiments have been simmering for centuries in Burma. The dark-skinned Rohingyas, who have more in common physically and culturally with Bangladeshis than with most Burmese, have always suffered abuse.
The junta has ostracised them, by refusing full Myanmar citizenship, calling them only “residents of Rakhine state”. Almost all the roughly 800,000 Rohingyas today are stateless. The military regime routinely presses them into slave labour, severely restricts their rights to travel and marry, and denies them access to both medical care and education.
Is it because they are Muslims? Possibly. Many of the Rohingyas certainly believe that is the case. Neighboring Bangladesh, a Muslim country, offers no sanctuary for the people, mostly because it has its own severe economic problems.
Since 1992 Bangladesh has refused to grant the Rohingyas refugee status. Only two official UNHCR camps now remain near Chittagong. But most of those repatriated to the same dire conditions they had fled have trickled back to squat in makeshift shelters and camps just across the border. Today around 8,000 live in an unofficial camp called Tal. Another 200,000 have settled in the surrounding area.
But moving people about, clumping them according to caste or class or faith system or whatever Machiavellian scheme might be devised cannot be the answer. All people must be recognized as endowed with certain inalienable rights in the place where they are.
The issue of minority peoples in any nation is much more complicated than that, of course, or is it?
