i missed the grammys on sunday, but came across this video.
really? really? REALLY? really, wil.i.am? really?
here is the link (fb readers)
no, seriously, really? really.
there are just no words. none at all.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
she's back!
no, i didn't drop off the face of the earth; but last semester seriously kicked my butt, hence the absence of my usual rants.
anyway, i just came across this video and HAD to share it:
exaggeration aside, i completely related to this video. i can think of specific times in college especially where i was the caroline in a given situation. good times.
btw, how excited am i that obama is coming to maryland on monday?
anyway, i just came across this video and HAD to share it:
exaggeration aside, i completely related to this video. i can think of specific times in college especially where i was the caroline in a given situation. good times.
btw, how excited am i that obama is coming to maryland on monday?
Monday, October 01, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
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!
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