A Burmese prison cell (AAPP museum)

Dreadful news out of Burma today. Fourteen pro-democracy activists were sentenced to 65 years in prison by the Burmese junta…65 years in a Burmese prison is essentially a death sentence. These fourteen activists, all members of the 88 Generation organization (named after Burma’s 1988 democracy uprising), represented Burma’s greatest hopes. They wanted reconciliation not revolution. Peace not war. Democracy over dictatorship. Yet, once again, the military junta has smashed Burma’s hopes. Among those sentenced was one Nilar Thein, a brave young woman who had spent a year in hiding following last year’s democracy uprising, a year in which she was not even able to see her young baby. I woke up this morning to a BBC World Service interview with Nilar Thein recorded last January, when she was still in hiding. You can listen here: BBC interview with Nilar Thein

When BBC’s Jonathan Head asked if Nilar Thein ever had any moments of doubts and weakness after months in hiding, away from her baby daughter, this is what Nilar said:

“No, I have no doubts. After spending years in prison, I have become very firm in my beliefs. I was held in solidarity confinement, my health was failing, but I refused to sign the statements the authorities gave me. What I want to say is that if you hold onto your beliefs you can overcome anything. Today, there is every chance that I will be captured. But until that day, I will do what I can do.”

In addition to the fourteen 88 Generation activists sentenced, another 26 people were sentenced, including monks, a well-known labor rights activist, Su Su Nwe, and Nay Phone Latt, a 28 year old blogger. It’s strange…I’m 28 and I’m here blogging about politics…but I can hardly conceive of Nay Phone’s being given a 20 year prison sentence merely for posting a cartoon of Burma’s dictator, Senior-General Than Shwe on his blog.

Many of these activists had already spent years in Burmese prisons, and knew the harsh conditions that would await them. Yet that knowledge did not discourage them from taking up their struggle once more. They could have gone back to their lives, to their families and children, to their monastaries. Instead they willingly gave their lives to an ideal: a free and democratic Burma. That ideal has long been a dream deferred in Burma. I am, as this blog’s title suggests, an idealist, but I am also a cynic. And I know that Burma’s struggle is a long and hard road, that grows only longer and harder by the day. Last year’s incredible uprising, taken against all odds, inspired…but also failed to further the democracy movement’s goals.

There is always hope, however. As the sentences were being meted out today, Min Zeya, the 88 Generation activist, is reported to have cried out: ““Only 65 years? We will never be frightened.”

Much of the world was buoyed with hope by the US’s election of Barack Obama this week. Hope is a good thing. A necessary thing. Hope is like the breathing machine that keeps the incredible Burmese democracy activist and writer Ludu Sein Win alive in his home in Rangoon, where he is apparently considered too frail by even the Burmese junta to re-arrest him despite his defiance and outspokenness (though not too frail to continue his rails against the dictatorship!). Hope is what enabled Nilar Thein to hold onto her ideals all those terrible months in hiding. Hope is, I’m sure, what keeps Aung San Suu Kyi’s spirit alive despite all those grinding years under house arrest.

And while I am distraught about all of these activists being thrown into hell, I too can at least be hopeful

Ko Bo Kyi accepting the Human Rights Watch award

that there are people like the Burmese human rights activist Ko Bo Kyi fighting on their behalf from exile. Last Thursday, Ko Bo Kyi was bestowed with Human Rights Watch’s highest honor at its annual Voices for Justice dinner in New York. I was able to attend as Ko Bo Kyi’s guest. Ko Bo Kyi is the co-director of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), an organization based on the Thai-Burma border that advocates for prisoners in Burma. Ko Bo Kyi himself spent seven years in Burmese prisons. He was first arrested when he was 18. He was tortured. And, during one prison sentence, he spent three years in solitary confinement. When Bo Kyi finally left Burma, to escape a third round in prison, he fled to Thailand where he established AAPP in exile. Bo Kyi is one of the most selfless individuals I have ever met. Since he escaped to Thailand, Bo Kyi has worked tirelessly on behalf of Burma’s political prisoners. He has helped win prisoners their freedom, and helped provide them with material support. He has also given them hope. Here is a recording of Bo Kyi’s acceptance speech.

Hope will keep Burma’s movement alive, of that I am sure. And Burma’s people will one day succeed in their struggle. But Burma needs so much more than hope right now.

Noam Chomsky, in an interview with the Bangkok Post over the summer, questioned the power of non-violent protest in a country like Burma:

“The rulers have a good thing going for themselves, nothing to gain by yielding power and no major risks in using it violently. So that’s what they’ll probably do, until the military erodes from within. Mass non-violent protest is predicated on the humanity of the oppressor.”

There is no humanity within the leadership of the Burmese junta. These are men that give orders to soldiers to shoot Buddhist monks. That give orders to soldiers to rape young girls. Men who horde humanitarian aid designated for victims of a devastating cyclone.

Perhaps then, it is time to stop treating the junta as if they can be reasoned with. Time to stop these diplomatic games with the UN. Time to try something new. How long must the Burmese people wait before the world acts? Another forty years in hell? I’m not sure even hope can live that long.

As the M60 bus drove down 125th St there was electricity in the air, and I watched a crowd start to gather in the square at 125th and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (another first, once upon a time) Boulevard. After watching some of the results come in on the tube, Nathan, Afua, Seth L, and John P and I all headed to the square to ring in a new year (era??). Here are some clips recorded on a Flip camera…they’re bouncy and quickly edited together today, but hopefully give you a sense of the energy out in Harlem last night. Sometimes history works out.

During the Olympics, the Western press corp in Beijing made a fuss when they discovered that websites they wanted to use were unavailable to them in China (not to mention that the International Olympic Committee had actually signed off on this censorship). As a result of pressure from Western media, the Chinese government actually unlocked some sites (like Amnesty International) during the Games, but only a few, and only English-language sites.

Now you too can surf the web as if you were in China thanks to a new add-on for your Firefox web browser (thanks EarthMouse for letting me know). Released in October, the China Channel routes your internet connection through a proxy server in China (ironically, in much the same way that Chinese Internet-users use proxy server to get around Internet censorship).

You can download the add-on here: http://www.chinachannel.hk/

I’ve tested it out, and it doesn’t always work (my server connection kept being broken), but when it does, you can get a sense of what’s banned when you try searching for sensitive subjects. Try visiting Tibet.com or Amnesty International’s site or looking up information about the 1988 Tiananmen Square protests, and you won’t have any luck.

China Channel is a good reminder that the Internet isn’t the end-all be-all for open information. Too many Internet companies (Yahoo and Google among them) have worked with the Chinese government to undermine freedom of information in China. This cool new add-on let’s web browsers see the truth behind China’s Great Firewall. For the Communist Party, information is still a dangerous commodity in China.

“It’s too depressing. I’m not interested in seeing a big cat cooped up like that.”

“No! Just go inside. Trust us.” Peer pressure won us over. We stepped off the sidewalk and into the store. The place was packed for a pet shop, I thought. We turned to have a look at the poor leopard. To our shock, there was no leopard lying on a branch, but a leopard’s fur coat, a redish label sewed on it for good measure. I’m not sure I’ve ever been duped more in my life. The tail continued to wag back and forth…but it was all a mechanical ruse. Check it out for yourself here. What the hell?? Feeling rather stupid (if amused) we went to have a look at the rest of the store. Just to the left of the leopard-coat, was a large cage with a baboon sitting inside it, mindlessly flipping the channels on a television set. Beer cans and candy wrappers littered the floor of his cage. What was he watching? Discovery-channel primate porn. This was crazy, and genius!

We soon realized that the entire store was full of pranks like this. My favorite was probably the aquarium filled with fish-sticks that swam around just like fish! Perplexed, I went to the counter, where a lone woman, dressed in “Village Pet Store” attire, was manning a register. “What’s this all about?” I asked. “Who’s behind this?”

The “Pet Store” employee was coy about who was responsible for the shop, but she did mention the name Banksy. Ah-ha! Banksy strikes again. For those of you not familiar with Banksy, he (or she???) is a mysterious British artist-provocateur known mostly for his subverise stencil graffiti. Funnily enough, the photo border at the top of this site is a photo of a Banksy stencil in London. You can view Banky’s work here. So…Banky’s an animal-rights activist too…and probably a vegetarian too given the exhibit. Well, Banky’s first foray into animatronics is sheer brilliance.

Here’s a clip of the shop I found on YouTube (when I visited a Burger King ad accompanied it…ah irony!):

As I wandered around the shop, checking out the rabbit trying on animal-tested cosmetics, a dejected-looking “Tweety” bird, and “chick”-en nuggets pecking at a packet of ketchup, I was reminded that good art can be political. I’m not sure that the “store” converted any of its visitors to vegetarianism or to sign up to PETA, but it certainly will show people that we take our dependence on animal products far too lightly. Which I’m guessing is the message that Banksy intended to get across.

The petstore employee handed me a card for the shop, which is actually called “The Village Petstore (and Grill),” which lists a website: www.thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com. I recommend a visit. Better yet, if you’re near NYC, get down to the shop before it closes on Friday October 31st (it’s been open all month, though there’s been little media attention as far as I can tell). It’s located at 89 7th Avenue South (between West 4th and Bleecker) and open daily from 10 am – midnight. You won’t be disappointed (though you might be put off your dinner).

Some photos taken from my iPhone (sorry for the poor quality!):

To the Editor of Playboy

December 21, 1962

Dear Sir,

I wish you hadn’t billed the debate between William Buckley and myself as a meeting between a conservative and a liberal. I don’t care if people call me a radical, a rebel, a red, a revolutionary, an outsider, an outlaw, a Bolshevik, an anarchist, a nihilist, or even a left conservative, but please don’t ever call me a liberal.

Yours,

Norman Mailer

Old flag, same old bullshit

I went to the New School on Friday to attend a talk by Prime Minister Pushpa Dahal, the new head of state of the very new Federal Republic of Nepal (another kingdom bites the dust!). PM Dahal is better known by his nom de guerre, Prachanda, which means “the Fierce One” in Nepali. You can hear the talk here courtesy of the blog Hegemonik, a leftier rag than this one.

There was something richly ironic about seeing the world’s first democratically elected Maoist speak after the apocalyptic week on Wall Street. I am as confused as anyone about whether this massive $700 billion bailout means that the US is leaning more towards socialism, facism, or plain ol’ fat cat capitalism (I’m thinking the latter myself). Prachanda, in any case, didn’t seem to bothered about it all.

Nope, Prachanda was here in New York, capitol of (late? – pun intended) capitalism, to put a new friendly, investment-ready face on Nepal, not spread the revolution triumphant.

Prachandra’s speech (in English) was peppered with language about respect for human rights, human development, Nepal’s need for foreign direct investment, and something about harnessing the power of Nepal’s mighty rivers for “mega-hydro power projects” (er…sounds like a bad idea Prandy). It was, in fact, a rather boring speech. Here’s a guy who before he put on a suit and became a democrat led a guerrilla army that was responsible for thousands of deaths (in a civil war that claimed around 13,500 – correction from Hegemonik, thanks) over the last decade or so (Prachanda blithely called it “the people’s war” in his speech). Fierce One, non. Here was PM Dahal, pretending to be a democrat, hoping for some scraps from the non-Maoist world. (An aside: a highlight of Prachanda’s comments was when he told us all that had Lenin lived another 10 years, he surely would’ve brought about multi-party democratic elections…righhhht…when Soviet pigs fly Prandy.)

I’ll admit that I went into Tischman Auditorium with a little bias. Prachanda’s new government has been cozying up to nearby China with alarming results. Tibetan refugees, who for decades have called Nepal home, are now being threatened with deportation back to the Chinese Empire to satisfy China’s will. So it was more than a bit rich to see Prachanda talk about respect for human rights while his thugs are beating up Tibetans on the streets of Kathmandu, and threatening them with a deportation that will certainly send even more Tibetans to China’s gulags.

My friend Lobsang, a Tibetan refugee from Nepal, came with me to the talk and was able to ask Prachanda whether he was more interested in appeasing China or protecting Nepali-Tibetans human rights. For the first time that night, Prachanda seemed taken aback…and his response was as pathetic as anything I’ve heard spouted from a politician. In his response, Prachanda said his priority was to make sure that friendly nations (ie, China) were not offended by the activities of guests in Nepal. Fierce One? Try Compromised One.

Once upon a time, Prachanda railed against China’s path back down the evil “running-dog” capitalist path. Now, it seems Hu Jintao has a new lap dog.

But there was no one probably more disappointed in the audience than those wide-eyed Marxist youth who came to see their potential messiah. But their entreaties for Prachanda to lead the revolution (with Chavez? with Morales? Puh-lease oh anointed one, heir to Lenin and all things last century) fell on deaf ears. History, for them, is yet to begin. And good, because there is nothing worse than naivete mixed with misplaced idealism. Stalin? Lenin? Mao? Hell-oooo? Read a history book and find some other heroes.

Prachanda is, for better or worse, an anomaly. But his record thus far does not bode well for freedom, democracy, or human rights. Well, at least the fat cats on Wall Street don’t have to worry about resurgent Maoism. Regular old greed, not revolution, is today’s harbringer of capitalist doom.

- Jonathan is Alive