2009 April 01 « Rev. Danny Fisher

Ain’t No Party Like a Tricycle Party, ‘Cause a Tricycle Party Don’t Stop

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This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money

It was just announced that the This American Life episode “The Giant Pool of Money” was among this year’s Peabody Award recipients. Here is what the Peabody Board said in honoring the piece:

The first-ever collaboration of “This American Life” and NPR’s news division, this report was impressive for the arresting clarity of its explanation of the financial crisis we’re in, and even more so for its having aired so early – May 2008.

Because the financial crisis is difficult to grasp in many respects (hence my own hesitance to say too terribly much about it), and the This American Life episode so clear in its exposition, it seemed valuable to point readers to it. You can listen to the full episode here.

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April 1, 2009

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Tibet Supporters: "Keep It Up. You Are the People Who Make Freedom Happen."

I recently posted about an effort by The Community, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to garner support for Tibet from Nobel Peace laureates, entertainers, statesmen, and ordinary citizens. The Archbishop recently sent out a message of gratitude to supporters:

It warms my heart to see so many of my fellow Nobel Laureates, stars, leaders, and people from around the world put their signature on paper, so to speak, to stand behind our friend the Dalai Lama.

We have just seen a shameful example of South African leaders becoming timid in the face of Chinese “might” and their own economic interests, and refusing this incredible, peaceful being entry to our county–for a peace conference!

It’s an embarrassment that this could happen in a country that has known how dark life can be when your human rights are being smashed. And we, of all people, know what it means when someone in another part of the world stands up for your rights and freedom.

So it’s a joyful thing, to turn around and see you — people from all countries, from all walks of life, who are willing to step forward, put their name down, and say “wait a minute, I object to this mistreatment!”

It lets me know, once again, that good will ultimately prevail in this world.

Keep it up. You are the people who make freedom happen.

Add your support here.

[Photo by Mike Hutchings for Reuters NewMedia Inc./CORBIS. "Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks after receiving the Jamnalal Baja International Award in Cape Town, South Africa, June 25, 2001. The award, named after a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, recognizes the promotion of Gandhi's pacifist values outside India."]

April 1, 2009

Burma News (4.1.09)

A 49-year-old man in the advanced stages of HIV has not told friends about his situation because of the social stigma attached to the disease. ‘The worst thing for me is the loneliness,’ he said. Two weeks after this photograph was taken, he died.” Photo by the International Herald Tribune.
[This post has been updated as of 7:30 p.m. EST on 4.1.09.]

Here are today’s Burma-related headlines:

The New York Times reports on Burma and HIV/AIDS. Burma’s aid and assistance for people with HIV/AIDS ranks lowest in the entire world. The Times notes that Médecins Sans Frontières has estimated that 240,000 people in Burma are currently infected with HIV, and that 76,000 are “in urgent need” of antiretroviral drugs. An estimated 25,000 die from HIV/AIDS in Burma every year. The report also includes a striking series of photos, one of which is shown above.

The Agence France-Presse reports that the junta “recorded a trade surplus of 2.5 billion dollars over the past fiscal year in spite of the global economic crisis.”

According to Radio Free Asia, “Burmese children in the United States who took two commonly used household medications from Burma were found to have high levels of lead and arsenic in their blood.”

The Associated Press writes that Burma’s internet service has been disrupted this week, “costing travel agents and exporters much-needed business and forcing computer cafes to turn away customers.” They note, though, that “there is no indication that government meddling is behind the slowdown.” Uncomfirmed reports from local business owners suggest legitimate technical problems.

The AFP also reports that Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg has said the United States wants a “collaborative and constructive” approach on Burma, and that other Asian nations should avoid “recreating a mini version of the Great Game.”

Lastly, and also on the subject of relations with Burma, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has an editorial in today’s Boston Globe about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announced review of the US’s policy toward the country. He writes, among other things:

During the review, the administration should stay the course on current US policy toward Burma. Assistance provided in the wake of Cyclone Nargis should be monitored closely to ensure that none is siphoned off by the regime, and ongoing programs that seek to address the most basic of needs to the people of Burma – inside and along the border with Thailand – should continue at increased funding levels to address currency and commodity price fluctuations. Finally, no one should believe that elections scheduled for next year will be transformational so long as [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi], the National League for Democracy, and ethnic nationalities remain shackled, and barred from political participation by the junta’s Draconian constitution. The call for the immediate and unconditional release of Suu Kyi and all prisoners of conscience must continue.

[...]

To paraphrase former British prime minister Winston Churchill, the price of America’s greatness is a responsibility to stand by courageous democrats in Burma. Congress has done so in the past, and should continue to do so as long as they struggle for justice and freedom in their country.

April 1, 2009

Tibet News (4.1.09)

“Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama visually corroborates with his hands as horns as he speculates that the Chinese government probably thinks of him as the devi at a press conference in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 31, 2009. On this day, 50 years ago, he set foot in India as an exile.” Photo by Saurabh Das for the Associated Press.
Here are today’s stories about Tibet:

CNN reports on His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanking India on this, the occasion of his 50th year in exile.

The Committee to Protect Journalists “calls on the Public Security Bureau in China’s Gansu province to disclose the whereabouts and legal status of Kunga Tsayang, a monk from the Amdo Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery who has written online political commentary.”

In a similiar story from Bloomberg, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has urged China to open Tibet up to journalists and foreign observers the day after Chinese authorities announced it would re-open Tibet to tourists.

The Associated Press also reports that His Holiness has condemned the recent hacking of computers used by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. He told reporters, “My officials are surprised that even some communication from my office in upper Dharmsala to our secretariat in central Dharmsala seems to reach the Chinese hands.”

Also according to the AP, the Chinese government has predictably dismissed reports about the “GhostNet” hacking as “lies.”

Reuters reports that France and China have agreed to repair ties damaged over the Tibet issue.

Leaders of Students for a Free Tibet in the UK have published an open letter to the leaders of the G20, which you can read at SFT’s blog Tibet Will Be Free.

SFT’s Lhadon Tethong also writes for Alternet about the newly-released footage from last year’s demonstrations in Lhasa.

The BBC reports on China’s faux Panchen Lama.

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