Burmese Tyrants Can't Laugh, Dance or Sing!

And you can be sure they can't dance! The great Emma Goldman reportedly advised: "If I can't dance, I won't be part of your revolution,"

Let's not forget that Burma suffers from the same oppressive control over their every thought that holds the Tibetans down, and the Uyghurs and ANYONE who challenges the politburo. Some "People's" Republic!

Myanmar court hands comedian 45-year prison term

From Associated Press

21/11/08

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's courts continued a crackdown on activists, handing out a 45-year prison sentence to a comedian who went to the delta to help cyclone victims and criticized the junta's slow relief response.

Comedian and activist Zarganar, whose birth name is Maung Thura, on Friday joined the at least 100 people to receive sentences of two to 65 years since early November. Many of the trials were held in closed sessions, sometimes without defense lawyers or family present.

[...] The government holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007 - before last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, according to international human rights groups.

[...] Among those sentenced Friday was Buddhist monk Ashin Gambira, who helped organize the protests, said a lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing the government. The monk's 12-year sentence and prison terms for earlier charges brought his total to 68 years in jail.

[...] Zarganar, whose name means "tweezers" and whose comedy routines are banned for their jokes about the junta, and several other activists delivered donations of relief supplies to the Cyclone Nargis-shattered Irrawaddy delta. The May cyclone killed more than 84,000 people.

Zarganar was arrested in June after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets in which he criticized the junta's slow response.

Zarganar was sentenced for violating the Electronics Act, which regulates all forms of electronic communication, said his lawyer, Khin Htay Kywe. The comedian still faces other charges, she said.

Zarganar has been imprisoned several times before, including a three-week stint for providing aid to Buddhist monks during last year's demonstrations.

Three associates were tried with him. Sportswriter Zaw Thet Htwe and video journalist Thant Zin Aung were given 15 years each and face further charges, while Tin Maung Aye got 29 years, Zarganar's lawyer said.

Those sentenced recently included some 70 members of the opposition National League for Democracy party of detained Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some of the most severe sentences were handed to 23 members of the 88 Generation Students group, veteran activists who have been spearheading nonviolent protests for the past several years.

On Thursday, well-known hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw, a member of the band "Acid," was jailed for six years, and 14 members of Suu Kyi's party got 2 1/2 years each for calling for her release on her birthday in June, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

Zeyar Thaw is thought to be a leader of Generation Wave, an illegal student group formed in the wake of last year's pro-democracy protests.

http://my.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20081121/49264050_3426_13350200811211771208311

Mindful Reading for Burma

Reading Burma: A Benefit for
Cyclone Relief and Freedom of Expression
in Burma/Myanmar
Location: New York City
Event Date(s): September 23, 2008
Event Time: 7:00 p.m.
Great Hall at Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street

Speaker(s): Kiran Desai, Venerable U Gawsita, Siri Hustvedt, Joseph Lelyveld, George Packer, Orhan Pamuk, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Salman Rushdie
This event marks the first anniversary of the monks’ uprising, in which thousands of Buddhist monks protested against Burma’s military dictatorship, and the twentieth anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy protests by millions of ordinary civilians. PEN, the Burma Project of the Open Society Institute, and the New York Review of Books will join together to honor Burmese writers whose work has been suppressed by the military regime and to support the victims of the recent cyclone. The event will also pay tribute to the thousands of monks who are missing or have lost their lives last year, and to those who have continued to speak out against injustice for the past twenty years.
All proceeds will be donated to the International Burmese Monks Organization, a network of Burmese Buddhist monks collecting relief aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
In addition to readings of Burmese writers’ work, some of which includes unpublished accounts from the cyclone-affected areas of Burma, The New Yorker’s George Packer will join the Venerable U Gawsita, one of the leaders of the 2007 monks’ uprising, in conversation.
Featuring
· Nobel Prize Laureate Orhan Pamuk
· Booker Prize Winner Salman Rushdie
· Booker Prize Winner Kiran Desai
· The Venerable U Gawsita, one of the leading monks of the 2007 uprising
· Author Siri Hustvedt
· Journalist Joseph Lelyveld
· Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
· Journalist George Packer
· Other Special Guests
Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to hear from the monks who stood up to the Burmese regime in 1988 and again in 2007, and from those men and women whose lives have been changed forever by the recent cyclone.
Co-sponsored by the OSI Burma Project, PEN American Center, The New York Review of Books, and Cooper Union.
Location
Great Hall at Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street
Subway: 6 to Astor Place; N/R/W to 8th Street-NYU
New York, New York
For Donations and Tickets
Visit www.smarttix.com or call 1-212-868-4444.
$20 (general admission) and $100 (includes post-event reception).
$15 for students and PEN members (with valid ID).
Support 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma:

Become a member of the United States Campaign for Burma today.
Or, make a donation today.

Fast for Cyclone Victims

Burmese Monks to Fast for Starving Cyclone Victims
Ask United Nations to Take Action to Save 2 Million People
Ralph Bunch Park, across from UN
43rd St. and 1st Ave. New York City
Thursday, May 15 3-7pm
Friday, May 16 9am-6pm

Join the Fast
Join the Prayers and Meditation
Support the Monks and the People of Burma

Supporters are invited to join the monks as they fast with alarm and grief for their country. Please come and support this courageous, peaceful action. They petition the United Nations to take action immediately in Burma before more people die of starvation through willful government neglect.
If you want to join the fast, you are very welcome! The monks will eat their last meal Thursday morning and then will break the fast Saturday morning. If you wish to fast for any of that time, or part of that time, please do. Please wear white if you are fasting so that you can be identified. All are welcome to come and meditate and pray with the monks. The more the better, and the stronger the message will be.
These days of fasting, meditation, and prayers is sponsored by the International Burmese Monks Organization, (International Burmese Monks Organization, IBMO) -- www.burmesemonks.org

Act for Burma

May 17, 2008 – UN PROTEST

2.5 MILLION LIVES IN BURMA
IN THE BALANCE
UN ACT NOW!

WHEN: Saturday, May 17, 12pm
WHERE: Ralph Bunche Park, United Nations, 43rd St and 1st Ave
WHO: NY Burma activists -- NY Burma Roundtable, US Campaign for Burma, Burma 88 Coalition, 8-8-08 for Burma

As a compassionate New York resident, please wear white on Saturday and join us to hold a vigil with 15 Burmese Buddhist monks who will fast and demonstrate in front of the United Nations.
CONTACT: Farheen Malik, newyork@uscampaignforburma.org // Cristina Moon, 347-756-4088, info@8808forburma.org
=====================================================
More information on the Global Day of Action available on our site and at www.burma-network.org

Help the Burmese Monks Help Burma

Burma Cyclone--Stand with the People

The cyclone that ripped through Burma left tens of thousands dead and a million homeless--a natural disaster made much worse by the failure of the military junta to warn or evacuate its people.
Now, the government has slowed the urgent process of providing humanitarian relief--so Avaaz is raising funds for the International Burmese Monks Organization and related groups, which will transmit funds directly to monasteries in affected areas.
In many of the worst-hit areas, the monasteries are the only source of shelter and food for Burma's poorest people. They have been on the front lines of the aid effort since the storm struck. Other forms of aid could be delayed, diverted or manipulated by the Burmese government--but the monks are the most trusted and reliable institution in the country.
We cannot accept cheques--for donation by Switch, Maestro or other questions click here for donation FAQ

Burma Needs Our Help

NASA Satellite Captures Image of
Cyclone Nargis Flooding in Burma

Click on image to increase size

NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the Burma coast on April 15, 2008, before Tropical Cyclone Nargis flooded the region. Credit: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team


NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of the Myanmar coast on May 5, 2008, showing the devastation of flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. Credit: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team

[from NASA's report]
Flood water can be difficult to see in photo-like satellite images, particularly when the water is muddy. This pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite use a combination of visible and infrared light to make floodwaters obvious. Water is blue or nearly black, vegetation is bright green, bare ground is tan, and clouds are white or light blue.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/nargis_floods.html
Events for Cyclone Relief

New York City, Friday, May 9th
UN Demonstration for Cyclone Victims, Time: 3:00-5:00 pm
Location: Ralph Bunche Park, United Nations. 434d and 1st Ave
http://nyburmaroundtable.googlepages.com/

Candle Light Vigil, Time: 7:00pm, Location: Union Square
San Francisco, May 9th, 4pm - 8pm
(4–6pm Protest & Rally; 6-7pm Speakers; 7-8pm Prayers & Vigil)
San Francisco Federal Building/Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Office
450 Golden Gate Avenue (@Larkin), San Francisco, CA
www.badasf.org
Washington DC, May 11th
Protest in front of SPDC attache (2300 California Ave), 6:00pm
Prayer Vigil at Burmese Buddhist Temple at 10:00 am
Toronto, May 10th
Prayer Service for Cyclone Victims
Place: 12 High Meadow Place
Toronto, Ontario, M9L 2Z5
Boston, Saturday, May 10th
Fundraiser 12-4pm
Yoma Restaurant
5 N Beacon St, Allston, MA 02134
http://harvardbam.blogspot.com
Dallas, Saturday, May 10th
Prayer Service and fundraiser
Thanksgiving Square
1627 Pacific Ave (between Akard and Bryan)
http://uscampaignforburma.org/cyclone-nargis-devistates-burma

Burma Battles Cyclone; Upcoming Elections Feared Postponed

I was just about to post news about a new human rights video campaign below when this news came in:
Cyclone Nargis Devistates Burma
More than 350 people have died after a powerful cyclone struck Burma and destroyed thousands of homes.
Burmese state television said five regions had been declared disaster zones, following the 120mph storm.
It said at least 351 people were killed by Tropical Cyclone Nargis, including 162 who lived on Haing Gyi island off the country’s southwest coast. Many of the others died in the low-lying Irrawaddy delta.
Seventy-five percent of the buildings in the Irrawaddy’s Labutta township had collapsed, it said.
[...] Some citizens in Rangoon complained the 400,000-strong military was doing little to help storm victims and were largely invisible.
“Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?” said one man. “They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity.”
Chris Kaye, the United Nation’s acting humanitarian co-ordinator in Rangoon, said: “The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard, not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge.”
http://uscampaignforburma.org/cyclone-nargis-devistates-burma
And this from the Huffington Post:
Cyclone kills hundreds in Myanmar; junta response a concern
May 4, 2008 10:43 PM EST
YANGON, Myanmar — A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help.
Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box.
Some in Yangon complained the 400,000-strong military was doing little to help victims after Saturday's storm.
"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said a trishaw driver who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."
The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside of Myanmar urged the military junta Sunday to allow aid groups to operate freely in the wake of the cyclone _ something it has been reluctant to do in the past.
It would be difficult for other countries to help unless they received a request from Myanmar's military rulers.
"International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required. The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone," said Naing Aung, secretary general of the Thailand-based forum.
The storm's 120 mph winds blew the roofs off hospitals and cut electricity to the country's largest city.
Shari Villarosa, the top American diplomat in Yangon, said the storm's whipping winds and torrential downpour had caused "major devastation throughout the city."
"The Burmese are saying they have never seen anything like this, ever," Villarosa told The Associated Press. "Trees are down. Electricity lines are down. Our Burmese staff have lost their roofs."
[...] The cyclone came only days before a May 10 referendum on the country's military-backed draft constitution. Authorities have not yet said whether they would postpone the vote.
A military-managed national convention was held intermittently for 14 years to lay down guidelines for the country's new constitution.
The new constitution is supposed to be followed in 2010 by a general election. Both votes are elements of a "roadmap to democracy" drawn up by the junta.
Critics say the draft constitution is designed to cement military power and have urged citizens to vote no.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/04/un-official-243-dead-afte_n_100010.html
With such terrible hardships for the Burmese, it's all the more reason to pitch in and help them even by just talking about them to keep their struggle alive, and one person tells another, who tells another…you never know what can be generated.
Anyway, the video campaign shows celebrities doing their part to help bring human rights to Burma. Some participants are Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston & Woody Harrelson, Jason Biggs & Julie Benz, and Eddie Issard. Here is celebrity #4, the incredibly unique Sarah Silverman, doing her best to test the limits of social behavior:

http://uscampaignforburma.org/