I recently wrote this in reaction to the current situation. Many of you know that my wife, Paw, came to the United States as a refugee from Burma. Most of you who come to this site are my friends and family, so I hope you will feel compelled to take action - to write letters to the editor and to your representatives that now is the time to take action. Every minute we wait, thousands more die.
What's New?
Burma
The Burmese government is acting despicably by refusing to let in aid experts and workers from other countries to bring emergency relief to victims of cyclone Nargis. Of course, no one is surprised. This is a military junta that has a clear record of brutal suppression of free speech and human rights abuses, including forced child labor, kidnapping children to enlist them in the military, using rape as a weapon of war, and carrying out a campaign of genocide against Karen and other ethnic minorities.
Now, with the United Nations raising its estimate of the number of people severely affected by the cyclone up to 2.5 million, the world is faced with a serious moral question. Can we allow a ruthless military dictatorship to continue to act in a way that denies aid that is necessary for millions of people to survive? Can we allow a regime that is despised by its own people let millions die although help is available? In the end, the moral argument is clear that for a government to willfully refuse to help millions of dying people is the same as willfully killing them. And again, we must remember the millions that have already been killed or displaced by the Burmese military simply because of their ethnicity.
We should strongly support British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and those in the United Nations who suggest that the U.N. should act under its “responsibility to protect” doctrine, which is intended to apply to cases of genocide. They are right in suggesting that the current actions of the Burmese military junta are as reprehensible. We should also not forget the more than one million Karen that have been killed or displaced since 1996 “in the face of systematic human rights violations including rape, forced labor and torture.”1
The Burmese government is right to be afraid to let outsiders into Burma. They have pushed the governments and people of the world to their limits of being able to repress their revulsion at the junta’s willingness to cause the people of Burma to suffer for their own selfish goals.
I hope that everyone who reads this will feel compelled to write or call their representatives and urge them to support action to save the Burmese people, with or without the support of the ruling junta.
Leave Us Burning
A new video of an old song... I wrote it the day that George Bush gave his "The terrorists want Americans to be afraid so they won't buy dishwashers" speech. Oh yeah, and the United States invaded Afghanistan that day too...
Bob and Paw singing Godspeed by the DIxie Chicks
A very sweet rendition by us two lovebirds!
Sneak Preview: Ultra Fart Mix 2
After the incredible success of the Ultra Fart Mix, Paw and I have been working hard on a new compilation. Check out a new song from the mix here. It's a very cool song called "Wind" that is in 5/4 time:
Internet Explorer vs. Firefox
I've seen that the videos on this site don't play in IE. Sorry. Go get Firefox already!
New Song!
First new song in over two years!! It took a school project for me to make it, but I might just be back on the wagon again! Check out the youtube video for "I am a Metaphor for Me" below!
Covers and youtube
I've also been recording some covers for youtube. The latest is "The Rain Crashed Down" by Eddie From Ohio. Check out the videos section.
ESL News
A new project that I am working on is to make text and audio recordings of current news stories in simplified English as an ESL resource. If anyone would like to help, even just to re-write an article that you like from the newspaper, it would be fantastic!
