Registered: Mar 2005
Location: SEATTLE
Posts: 1932

This story really depresses me. while we're busy waging peace in Iraq, burma is suffering under aurguably the most orwellian regime on earth, at the hand of the military junta that calls itself the "state peace and development council". one can only assume they are fond of joy camps and other goodthink.

this story touches me personally, because my favorite restaurant on earth is "burma superstar", in san francisco's richmond district. it is simply so incredibly good that it is beyond words; people wait in line outside, even in the typical san francisco cold, to eat there, seven days a week. but beyond the good food is the service, and the habit those wonderful people have of relating stories of their culture to you. it always begins, "it is our custom in burma to..." followed by some sincerely described act of kindness, like letting a stranger eat dinner with them, in exchange for conversation. it's hard to describe without sounding cheesy, but to hear those people tell it, it's truly touching. i've heard stories of how some of them made it out of burma alive, and it's just shocking...because you actually go to their restaurant and they wait on you, with these big kind smiles. there is just something about them that is beautiful.

so why isn't this incredible burmese cuisine, that puts chinese, indian, and thai to shame, more popular? because those poor bastards can't leave. anyway...a little background.

quote:

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The regime came into power amid a violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The then-ruling socialist regime had precipitated total economic failure in Burma, and the Burmese people took to the streets of the capital Rangoon (now Yangon) to protest for change.

The Burmese military used the chaos to depose the socialist regime and silence the political demonstrators, killing thousands, to become Myanmar's ruling party. The new ruling junta called itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), changing the name to the SPDC in 1997 — ostensibly indicating democratic sympathies that never materialized.

Myanmar did hold elections in 1990, in which the National League for Democracy, led by Myanmar's legendary voice of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, won in a landslide.

But Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma's independence hero, Aung San, was never allowed to lead. The SPDC refused to recognize the results and put her and hundreds of other political activists under arrest. Many of them, including Suu Kyi, have spent the majority of their lives in detention since then.

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Registered: May 2006
Location:
Posts: 3650

quote:

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Originally posted by BROKEN_LADDER
This story really depresses me. while we're busy waging peace in Iraq, burma is suffering under aurguably the most orwellian regime on earth,

this story touches me personally, because my favorite restaurant on earth is "burma superstar", in san francisco's richmond district. it is simply so incredibly good that it is beyond words; people wait in line outside, even in the typical san francisco cold, to eat there, seven days a week. but beyond the good food is the service, and the habit those wonderful people have of relating stories of their culture to you. it always begins, "it is our custom in burma to..." followed by some sincerely described act of kindness, like letting a stranger eat dinner with them, in exchange for conversation. it's hard to describe without sounding cheesy, but to hear those people tell it, it's truly touching. i've heard stories of how some of them made it out of burma alive, and it's just shocking...because you actually go to their restaurant and they wait on you, with these big kind smiles. there is just something about them that is beautiful.

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Registered: Dec 2002
Location:
Posts: 15990

Okay, touching personal vignette.

Now just exactly what do you think should be done about this, by whom, and why?

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Registered: Mar 2005
Location: SEATTLE
Posts: 1932

we redeploy all current iraq troops...


TO BURMA

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Registered: Dec 2002
Location:
Posts: 15990

Send the Iraqi army to Burma? Don't you think the Iraqi government might object to that?

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Registered: Jan 2006
Location:
Posts: 352

How can they they are American pupets.

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Registered: Mar 2004
Location: USA
Posts: 24317

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