Life Out East

The aggression continues and sillyness from the UK...

*** http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Burmacrackdown/ ***

Sadly there is still no end to the chaos that has hit the streets of Burma this week, not that anyone expected it to end so soon. It appears the UN tried to make some moves but dear old China and her mate Russia blocked any moves towards taking action. China feels it's all a matter for the Burmese and we should all just close our eyes and carry on with business as usual. But I suppose for a nation like China to criticise hard-handed military aggression against innocent civilians it would come across as somewhat hypocritical, given their track record. Which is probably one of the many reasons why military controlled Thailand has failed to do any voluble condemning either.

[pics from http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/]

Word on the net is that there has been at least one more fatality. Bloggers from within Burma continue to get the news out one way or other and still the junta of Than Shwe threatens the people with harsh action if they don't just go home and behave. And stories of monks trashing a mosque are just that apparently. Seems the junta has been getting soldiers in robes to do some mischief-making to blacken the name of the monks protesting.

For the first time in a long while I currently feel respect and admiration for a religious group; the Buddhist monks of Burma. I'm no fan of any religion and have no time for such man made hypocritical mumbo-jumbo (no offence to any die-hard religious fanatics) but I think what the monks in Rangoon are doing takes real belief, conviction and plain guts.

Added: And now nine more have been killed including a Japanese video journalist and some reports have suggested a German national was shot by the soldiers.

On a somewhat more trivial and light-hearted note here's some news from the UK. McDonalds have been charging a fine in some branches for people who take more than forty-five minutes to eat their food. They've brought in a car park firm to check and process fines for cars that remain in their car park in excess of this limit. One family received their bill two weeks after visiting McDonalds. They have four kids and dropped in for some dinner. First there was a queue so they took some time to get served and then there was a wait for the burgers. We're talking young kids here so there was some dillying and dallying before the burgers had been eaten, by which time everyone wanted some ice creams and apple-pie. Result: it was more than forty-five minutes. Anyway, two weeks later they get a bill for £125GBP (approx US$250). It seems they are not alone, loads of people have been caught in this McTrap. The family have of course raised two fingers in McDonald's direction and told them to whistle for their cash. The case continues.

And the Conservatives have named their candidate for the race to elect a new mayor of London. And yes, they opted for the candidate with most comedic qualities, yes you guessed it, Boris Johnson. So that's it, surely another victory to the madman Ken Livingstone. Eton and Cambridge educated "Boris the Blond" has been editor of The Spectator, MP for Henley-on-Thames and a shadow Conservative minister but is probably most famous for his unique brand of upper-crust buffoonary on the popular quiz panel show, Have I Got New For You. So, keep watching for more hilarious antics as Bozzer makes his quest to become the new mayor of London. I just love this guy!!! [But I wouldn't trust him with anything serious]