Life's ironies

While the UN spent the weekend working out a new set of sanctions against Burma, the Sunday paper here runs a fashion feature on how to choose Burmese gemstones.

*bangs head against wall*

The elephant in the room

I don't know how some of my colleagues do it -- cover a ministerial conference and file on the creation of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and its mission to promote and protect human rights in Asean. All done with a perfectly straight face while behaving oneself in a roomful of ministers as Burma shuffles her feet in the corner of the room.

As the world turns

... Gays in Australia are recognised for their achievements.

... But gays in the US are beat up

... And gays in Singapore are fighting for their legal rights.

... Wanna bet that monks in Burma were shot by bullets made in Singapore?

I have been too dispirited to write and post since the last entry. The above are links sent to me by friends or were posted in their blogs in recent days. And that's why I'm dispirited. One world, indeed.

Meanwhile, ordinary folk go to work, cook dinner, call their mums, tell their gay friends they love them, walk their dogs. And hope they make a difference.

No friend left behind

I'm used to seeing gory pictures taken at disaster scenes, Katrina, the Burma hurricane, the Indian Ocean tsunami. My first reaction of the pictures coming out of Japan was, oh, another Banda Aceh.

The first time any disaster picture made me teary was this video clip posted on a colleague's Facebook wall.

Shame

Say you're sitting at home and someone a few deities short of a full pantheon says that God told him to swim across the lake to gatecrash your house and warn you that someone will kill you. As a result of that, *you* get sentenced to 17 months' imprisonment. (And he gets 7 years' hard labour.)

Now, the EU is preparing sanctions against Burma that include restricting trade with state-owned firms and barring top junta officials from entering the bloc. Singapore's Foreign Ministry merely expresses "disappointment" at the sentence that Aung San Suu Kyi received. And the country continues to Burmese gems and lets the junta leaders fly in for medical treatment.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Preparing for a visitor

Last week, a banner went up at the bottom of our block of flats, saying that the residents warmly welcome the constituency's MP. That's a bit presumptuous, it assumes everybody in the block is eager to shake his hand. I haven't decided whether I want to meet him -- and tarik the hell out of him -- or put a rebel flag up on my door.

Then yesterday, there was a flyer in the mailbox, reminding of the time of his visit (this Sunday) and stating the purpose of his visit:
1) To get to know you.
2) To listen to your suggestions/problems, etc

Well then, this changes things slightly. If my MP wants to get to know me, then heck, I should let him get to know me. I have no problems for him to solve, I don't need help to find a job, don't care if I have a covered walkway all the way to the bus stop and train station. But I would like to know if we're selling arms to Burma.