Thursday
On Friday, the 2008 Olympic Games will open in China. I, along with many others around the world have chosen not to watch the opening ceremonies as a protest against the Chinese government's support of the Military Junta in Burma.
During World War II, as the people of Burma fought alongside the Allied Nations against foreign invasion by the Japanese in a brutal conflict. My Grandfather was among those brave soldiers. In 1948, independence was granted by the United Kingdom and Burma became a Republic governed by a Democratic government. This government was overthrown in 1967 when the present military rulers seized power. The people of Burma have been in a struggle to regain democracy ever since.
China is a major trade partner, major arms supplier and major defender of the Junta in the international arena, especially in the United Nations Security Council. The military junta in Burma is still in power to this day, despite strong and continuous resistance by the people of Burma, because of China's support. China has provided billions of dollars in weapons, used its veto power at the UN Security Council to paralyse peaceful efforts at change, and unilaterally undermined diplomatic efforts to free the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.
August 8th also marks the 20th anniversary of the 1988 democratic uprising, during which demonstrators were brutally massacred in the streets. Similar demonstrations occurred in 2007. The people of Burma are continually calling for a protection of freedom and human rights and an end to attacks against ethnic minorities. China however continues to send weapons and funds to the Burmese dictatorship, allowing attacks against civilians to continue. The people of Burma are continually calling for a protection of freedom and human rights and an end to attacks against ethnic minorities. China however continues to send weapons and funds to the Burmese dictatorship, allowing attacks against civilians to continue
The people of Burma deserve better.
I wish all of the athletes good luck in their efforts during the games this year and send warm greetings to the people of China. My protest is with the Chinese government, and not the citizens of this proud nation.
Please see the following URL for more information on the 08/08/2008 protests: http://uscampaignforburma.org/8808-beijing-olympics-campaign
Comments welcome.
Health roundup...!
Mum spent a few days in the hospital with chest pains. After a battery of tests they diagnosed her with Osteoporosis. It's treatable, and much better than the alternative causes of chest pains. My brother finally found a job which is great, he started this week and is apparently loving it. I never thought I'd see him in health care but there you go!
Isabella and Thomas are both over their joint infections. We're watching Alexander to see if he has caught anything but so far he hasn't. Isabella had her 4-month shots on Tuesday (poor thing).
Eric's feeling much better, the dialysis is really helping. He's on a restricted diet but apparently not as bad as the regular dialysis diet (which is basically dry food and no fluids) so that's good news. Still, 4 hours of dialysis 3 times a week is going to be hard. No news on the transplant front, they're waiting for his body to flush out all the toxins accumulated from the renal failure before even starting that process.
My employer was kind enough to give me a $100 bonus in the form of a gift certificate (I chose Amazon) so used it to buy a radar detector. Always wanted one, but never had the $300 to justify spending on what's basically a geek toy for me. Luckily enough, Amazon had a lower end Whistler on clearance for less than $100 so I lucked out. Seems to work pretty well, it's chirped merrily at every speed trap I've encountered from about half a mile out so I can't complain. I've never had a speeding ticket in 5 years of driving (ferociously touching wood) so I can't say whether or not it'll prevent me from getting one!
Pool table was finished last week - is working great so I'm really happy. Haven't had a chance to play on it much unfortunately because it's been a busy few weeks.