myanmar protests

i'll take a break from my usual rant to give an update on the myanmar(burma) protests:

Associated Press: Dissident group says 138 killed in crackdown by Myanmar junta
Mon 1 Oct 2007
Yangon, Myanmar - Myanmar's junta leader stalled a U.N. envoy for yet
another day Monday, delaying his chance to present international
demands for an end to the crackdown on the largest protests in two
decades that one dissident group says has killed more than 130 people.

A Norway-based dissident news organization estimated that 138 people
were killed - more than 10 times the government figure - and 6,000
detained.

After days of intimidation that snuffed out the public demonstrations
led by Buddhist monks, soldiers and riot police redeployed from
Yangon's center to the outskirts Monday, but were still checking cars
and buses, and monitoring the city by helicopter.

Traffic was light and most shops remained closed. Some monks were
allowed to leave monasteries to collect food donations, watched by
soldiers lounging under trees.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar, was given an
appointment to meet with Senior Gen. Than Shwe on Tuesday in the
junta's remote bunker-like capital, Naypyitaw, an Asian diplomat said.

Instead of the meeting Monday that he had hoped for, Gambari was taken
on a government-sponsored trip to attend a seminar in the far northern
Shan state on European Union relations with Southeast Asia, said other
diplomats. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity, citing
protocol.

Public anger, which ignited Aug. 19 after the government increased
fuel prices, turned into mass protests against 45 years of military
dictatorship when Buddhist monks joined in. Soldiers responded last
week by opening fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing at least 10
people by the government's account.

"The people are angry but afraid - many are poor and struggling in
life so they don't join the protests anymore," Thet, a 30-year-old
university graduate who is now driving a taxi, said Monday.

A Norway-based dissident news organization, the Democratic Voice of
Burma, said pro-democracy activists estimate 138 people were killed.

"Our own estimate is about 6,000 people detained, not killed, but
detained," including about 2,400 monks, DVB chief editor Aye Chan
Naing said in Oslo.

He said they are being held in at least four places - the infamous
Insein Prison, a pharmaceutical factory, a technical institute and a
disused race course.

He said his reporters had spoken to one family whose son was wounded
by gunfire in Yangon, brought to a hospital on Sept. 28 and
disappeared on Sept. 30.

There was a clear sense that the anti-democracy protests had once
again failed in the face of the junta's overwhelming military might,
which was last used in 1988 to crush a much larger uprising.

"I think the protests are over because there is no hope pressing
them," said a 68-year-old teacher.

In Yangon, trucks full of police and soldiers arrived in the
afternoon. Small vendors immediately packed up and left, while other
stores hurriedly closed their windows, fearing trouble.

Shwedagon and Sule pagodas, two flash points of the unrest, reopened,
but there were few visitors.

Another Asian diplomat said Monday all the arrested monks were
defrocked - stripped of their highly revered status and made to wear
civilian clothes. Some of them are likely to face long jail terms, the
diplomat said, also on condition of anonymity.

In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, security forces arrested
dozens of university students who staged a street protest on Sunday, a
witness said.

Gambari is expected to return to Yangon on Tuesday to catch a flight
out of the country, the diplomats said.

The U.N. said Gambari, in the country since Saturday, "remains in
Myanmar. He looks forward to meeting Senior General Than Shwe and
other relevant interlocutors before the conclusion of his mission."

The junta has not commented on Gambari's mission. Since arriving on
Saturday, he has met with junior members of the junta in Naypyitaw and
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.

Gambari's hour-long talk with Suu Kyi was unexpected - he did not know
before he arrived if he would be allowed to meet the 1991 Nobel Peace
prize winner who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in
Myanmar. She has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house
arrest.

Suu Kyi' National League for Democracy party was not optimistic
Gambari would yield any influence over the junta leaders.

The junta has never responded well to international pressure in the
past and has rebuffed U.N. efforts to bring about reconciliation with
Suu Kyi.

But its desire for oil and gas investment, increased tourism and its
status as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations means
it cannot follow a completely isolated path, as it has in the past.

"I do think a number of underlying dynamics have changed quite
fundamentally and make us more hopeful that something might happen,"
said British Ambassador Mark Canning.

The military rulers have sought to limit news coming out of Myanmar,
with public Internet access restricted and mobile phone service
sporadic for a fourth day in a row. Soldiers have gone to hotels in
search of foreign journalists operating without permission.

quote of the week

since my internship ended, i haven't been following congressional legislation nearly as much, but then i came across this story:
republicans, rePUBlicans (yes you read correctly) are criticizing the president for threatening to veto a children's health insurance plan.
yep. that would be a plan that provided health care for children.

senator orrin hatch (r, utah), when asked whether he would override the president's veto, actually said:

"you bet your sweet bippy i will."

i love it. i LOVE it!! what's a bippy? who cares! that quote made my day! you go, orrin.

Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa...

oh wow, where do i begin? my internship is over, i celebrated my last year of being a 20-something, school has started, and it's already kicking my ass. literally. we're not even a month into the semester and we've had a hate crime (some fool hung a noose outside the nyumburu cultural center) a carjacking, the local peeping tom is now getting bolder and attacking women, and, by the way, what the @&$/&! is wrong with o.j.?
yesterday was my first free evening in the past 8 days. i thought that my 2nd year would be a bit easier, but it seems like i'm under more pressure than last year. of course i have all kinds of opinions about the noose that was hung, my internship, etc., etc.,(really, when do i NOT have opinions?) but i'll save those for another blog. mainly because my brain is tired. instead, here are some pictures from my new camera (birthday gift to myself). i can't believe i'm 29 already. ack!

best campaign video yet

in case you didn't catch the youtube debate last night, here is the highlight of the night (from one of my favorite musicals)...the usual empty political responses, with the occasional rant from Mike Gravel, who apparently had a couple bowls of crazy beforehand.

as opposed to armenians?

so i came across this sticker the other day while waiting outside a portable restroom (in case you're confused, that's slightly better than a porta-potty).
ummm...did i miss something? i mean, are they trying to make a statement? i was thinking in light of the immigration thing (remember? how the senate came this close to (gasp) WORKING TO-GETH-ER on bipartisan, comprehensive legislation? then they said "nah! just playin'!)
so they're saying it's not enough that it was made in the u.s., but it had to be made by real live AMERICANS to be legitimate, as opposed to immigrants that, you know, came for all the free handouts?
sigh.
but wait, there's more! (i totally sound like an infomercial)
so i did some research. and by research i mean i googled ameri-can engineering and looked at the website.
first of all...well here, i'll just show the logo:



that's right kids...that's can for CANADA! so i'm confused. last time i checked, the u.s. didn't consider canadians to be americans, so what's with the sticker? maybe i am missing something, but see the website for yourself.
anyway, the sign amused me. of course taking a picture of it drew some strange looks from the women in line for the bathroom, which by the way, was pretty decent for a portable bathroom.

anyway. happy independence for rich white protestant male land owners day!

si se puede!

today i attended an immigration rally and march advocating for children and families. it was an interesting experience, being the first march i've attended in d.c. it's strange to be at an event like this in the capitol, right where the lawmakers are, as opposed to the ones i've attended/observed/been dragged to in seattle.

i went to observe and possibly talk with a few people, but after about an hour in the sun, it was harder and harder to get up the energy. this was due in part to having already spent some time in the heat (not to mention quality time with hundred of other prince george's county residents) when the metro train broke down, and we had to take the bus to the next station.
any way, there were around 2000 people at the march. we walked from the metropolitan ame church to the white house, which was pretty short. firm was handing out signs in support of keeping families together. i was amazed at the number of teenagers there; i hadnever been involved in anything like this when i was that age. i couldn't help but wonder if they'll be continuing this cause when they're grown, or middle aged; what will immigration policy look like then?
it seems like each side comes out with polls on what "most americans" think of immigration and what should be done (funny, i don't remember getting polled); but i wonder if, for most people-that aren't a part of the minuteman or activists-it comes down to the law. i don't think most people live in fear that immigrants will "take
over" or "drive welfare costs up" yada yada yada- and by the way, i love how all of a sudden, certain politicians and coalitions of a particular persuasion all of a sudden CARE about people on welfare.
but anyway, i don't hear the average person talking much about doing something about
the "push" factors of immigration. until we start doing something about that, it seems that we'll keep going around in circles.
well, that's enough rambling from me.

this time i have pictures

so much to talk about! i started my internship 3 weeks ago; on my first day, i went to a press conference given by hilary clinton. my first day! it was kind of surreal. i won't go into all the details, but it was to announce an amendment to the immigration bill (which was eventually voted against).


i had a friend come and visit over memorial day weekend, and we played tourist for a bit; i'm mooching some of his pictures. thanks steven!




and lastly; i actually get paid to do this (harpers ferry, west virginia):







more cynical observations later...

man, i need a camera...

ok, sorry for all the video posts-i'll try not to do that for awhile...it was my lazy way of pretending that i was keeping up with my blog.
so the semester is just about over-YAY!! i have survived my first year of grad school, almost. i went in to defend my internship proposal a couple of weeks ago and got GRILLED. oh well, i passed, but am now faced with re-writing most of it..but i'm telling myself that it's just a revision, cause...that sounds better.
so again, no more video posts, but actual blog posts with text. and pictures, as soon as i buy a new camera, cause, seriously, even i get bored at reading this thing with no shiny pictures, and well, you know how i love things that are shiny. =)
ummm...ok one more, but only because it's too funny! really! then after that i promise, no more videos!

Chris Rock for President!!!!

aaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!!!!!

i think marci is right, grad school is going to eat me....
anyone else as stressed as me? well, to cheer you up, here's a video from the greatest show ever:

sometimes the world makes no sense....

when i was about 13, my mother's cousin recited this at a family reunion, and it has stuck in my mind ever since. it was written by welsh poet dylan thomas.

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

did ya hear?

don imus was fired!! racism is over! we can all sleep better now! yay!!

just because....

THANK YOU ALANIS!!!

this made my week from hell just a little more bearable. i only wish i could thank her personally.

eek! more decisions!

so i was bragging to a friend about how i get spring break now that i was back in school...but oh no, it was no break. i mean, i went home and visited my family, but i did work much of the time. apparently, that's how it is for most grad students-which, i might point out, they did NOT tell us at orientation (disappointed face).

anyway, friday i went to graduate studies day at american university in dc. it was mostly for people who had applied and were accepted, but i thought it would be a good idea to go and check out the anthropology program. i'm already interested in applying, (i know, even after i said i didn't want to go into a doctoral program) mainly because they offer a concentration in race, gender, and social justice.
most of the orientation was pretty boring, except for the marine biologist from australia (or new zealand?) who gave a presentation on his research on the sex habits of hermit crabs (funny, and a bit creepy)
next we met with our departments, which was basically a question and answer time. they presented themselves as striving to make anthropology more available to the masses. the chair of the department was pretty adamant that public and applied anthropology were different things. in his mind, public anth took it a step further. although i didn't really agree with them, i was impressed with the fact that they had both a master's only program (in public anthropology) and a doctoral program, of which half of the graduates go on to non-academic careers. i talked with one of the professors who looked not much older than me, and was also studying the african diaspora. the more conversations i had with her and other students, the more i felt like i could really see myself in that program. of course i would have to finish at maryland first, but it looks like i may apply next year!
wow! phd. it wasn't even in my realm of thinking when i finished college.
i even liked the campus. i like maryland, but it's entirely too big, which contributes to all the grad students being so isolated in their departments. i'll probably take some classes there next year since they're part of the consortium, that way i'll really get a better sense of the department.
sooo..that means more decisions, more applications, more debt, more schoolwork...yipeee!! i'll be in debt for the rest of my life! yay! oh well, i'd rather be in debt doing something i love, then out of debt doing something mediocre that i hate. it will totally be worth it.
obligatory photos of my adorable and brilliant nephews:

[insert clever title here]

ok, so i had all this momentum going with posting regular blogs, then these past couple of weeks just hit me like a ton of bricks. the conference was great; it was pretty bad timing, considering all the work i had to do that weekend, but worth it because i got a break from school. at the end of the weekend my brain was completely full, and my resolve to help "save the world" renewed. oh, and not to mention the numerous additions of corporations i must now boycott (coca-cola); got to hang around some fun presbyterians, a group of whom let me crash in their hotel room (thanks maggie and claire!). hearing marian wright edelman speak was amazing-her speech was simple and to the point; there were no grandiose statements or pretentiousness that normally goes with speeches from someone of her stature.
for most of the weekend, i thought of how all of this related to anthropology. don't get me wrong, i'm really enjoying my studies so far, but at times i feel like we spend too much time discussing what it means to be a practicing anthropologist, but not a lot of time on what kinds of things we should be doing specifically.
speaking of which, the good news is i have an internship! yay!! some of you might know that i had planned on working with my advisor this summer, but that fell through. i was really starting to panic after awhile-i didn't really have a clear sense of what i wanted to do. most of the research being conducted in my areas of interest-race, the African diaspora, and missiology(study of it, not practice) were mostly academic. then i had an epiphany a couple of weeks ago. i did a presentation on an article about applied anthropologists working with sudanese refugees in nebraska, and i thought, hey! that's what i could do! i can't believe i didn't think of this before! i have experience volunteering with refugees in the past, and it fits in with my research interests. so i will be working at the presbyterian washington office researching issues facing african immigrants, and hopefully doing some ethnography. the drawback is that it's sort of up to me to develop the internship (hence the ton of bricks) on top of mid-terms...
so that has been my life so far. sorry, my camera broke so no pretty pictures to look at.

really tyra? really?

so, one of my classmates alerted me to an episode of the tyra banks show (for those of you who didn't know, yes, she has a show. yeah, i know.)
anyway, apparently she is celebrating an important milestone in black american history. and just what is this milestone? the first black supreme court justice? desegregation of public schools? the freedom riders? the march on washington? umm,well......just watch:

SNOW!

ok, so i know i've complained a bit about maryland, but one thing i do like is that they panic almost as much as virginia does when it comes to snow. which means school was closed today! yay! i was even productive; i trekked over to the anth department and did some homework for my stats class (aka, the bane of my existance). so tonight i'll reward myself by renting some bette davis and carole lombard (ask your parents), so i can pretend that i live in time when women were famous and got movie deals because of actual talent, not because daddy owns a few hotels.
and yes i know what day it is-i'm choosing to ignore it.

sigh...

you know, there's just something wrong with the world when there are plenty of perfectly talented singers and musicians out there, but for some reason, the people who give out grammys actually listened to the song "My Humps" and thought"Yes! This is a quality song that deserves a Grammy!"
seriously!!! my humps!! my HUMPS won a Grammy. a GRAMMY. not familiar with the song? besides the fact that the song has absolutely no artistic content other than a few electronic beats and some synthesizers, it contains the following lyrics:
whatcha gonna do with all that breast, all that breast inside that shirt?
i'ma make make make make you work, make you work work, make you work

really? really people? REALLY? really.

I'm strange

Or rather, I have a strange process when it comes to decision making. When it's something seemingly minor, it can take me like, ten years. But for big, almost life-altering decisions, I can make them just like that. Like when I decided to go to Guatemala for 4 months, I think it took me less than a day to decide. It had been in the back of my mind for a couple of months, then finally one day I just decided to go. But the other day when I was at the shoe store, it seriously took me forever to decide between the brown and tan boots that were on clearance.
It was the same for graduate school-it took me all of 2 seconds (ok maybe a little longer) to decide that I was going to Maryland.
Anyway, I was thinking about that the other day when I finally decided to go to this conference being held in DC in March. I think it took me about a month to decide. Well, I guess it helped that I got a partial scholarship.
So, yeah, I'm going to Ecumenical Advocacy Days in DC.
I'm looking forward to networking. You'd think I would be sick of conferences by now, considering I went to about a thousand of them last year. It'll be nice to be at one without worrying about setting up a display table for a change. Check out the website.
That's all.

Brrrrr!!

I never thought I'd be happy to see winter arrive. After 2 months of 60+ degree weather, I am actually glad that it's cold outside. Or rather, relieved. It just didn't seem right for it to be warm outside in December.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to a slightly less hectic semester. My new job is going well-it's been sooo nice to be able to walk to work.
Wow, that was kind of boring. Don't worry, more exciting posts will follow. =)