A Funkaoshi Production

The Saffron Revolution

   27 September 2007, early morning

At the all-candidates debate a fellow from Burma got up to ask a question, but wanted to make a brief announcement before starting. He wasn’t allowed to do so, because the crowd really wasn’t in the mood to hear anything that wasn’t about the election. After he sat down, I asked him what he wanted to talk about: he said, “the protests.”

Unless you really don’t pay attention to anything whatsoever, you are probably aware that there are protests happening in Burma right now. Thousands of monks have been marching in the streets. Burma is one of those countries with run by a vicious military junta that no one seems particularly bothered about. People are calling the current demonstrations the Saffron Revolution. It remains to be seen what sort of effect they will have. The military has finally started cracking down on the monks, but I can’t imagine people look on to fondly when you shoot at people whose entire existence is predicated on a belief in non-violence. (Though, I’m always confused by the monks in Sri Lanka. Their asses are crazy.) Bloggers within Burma are helping get the word out about the conditions within the country. The Globe has been carrying AP stories for the past few days on Burma. You should be sure to stay abreast of what’s taking place. We live in a world where this isn’t that difficult.

Current Events