The Washington Post reports on the “new generation” of activists for democracy in Burma: a “diffuse network of students, militant Buddhist monks, social service workers and leaders of the 1988 uprising” that has in some ways been “strengthened” by the junta’s crackdown on the Buddhist monastic-led democracy movement last fall and their incompetent response to Cyclone Nargis.
Via the U.S. Campaign for Burma: There are a lot of important stories about Burma emerging from the the annual summit meeting of the foreign ministers from the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which begins tomorrow in Singapore…
The Washington Post continues its indispensable coverage of the burgeoning global food crisis with a report informing us that, among other problems, cultural expectations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are “ensuring” that women are “hit hardest” by the shortage. Read the whole article here.
Via theworsthorse.net: horsefeed: The report below from Al Jazeera English is, as The Worst Horse says, “fascinating” for a number of reasons. Do take a look for a peek at Buddhism in a part of the world we don’t hear much about its presence in. (And for more on bodies that have miraculously preserved themeselves, see my Taiwan post from earlier this year.)
Because it’s a downer. It’s responsible. It has a conscience that precious few films of this type do. It creates a world where actions not carefully considered have real consequences. There’s nothing especially “fun” about the violence in The Dark Knight, and I think that’s a good thing. Life isn’t cheap in this movie. It also tackles serious and thorny issues: What inspires terrorism? What is heroism really? Where does ethical compromise end, and amorality begin? Like Steven Spielberg’s Munich, the film explodes a particular genre and sends the audience away mulling over important questions about values, violence, and civic responsibility. It’s an unsettling, affecting, surprising, and masterfully crafted piece of post-9/11 art, and one hopes that it’s influence on future blockbusters will be great.
