Why 1081081081234?
Google it if you haven’t already had it emailed to you, or have yet to come across it in the blogosphere, it’s all about Myanmar - Burma for those who use its’ former name.
It begins
Help the People of Burma — Post this on Your Blog! Note: This is a new kind of online protest that uses blogs to spread a petition globally. To participate, just add your blog by following the instructions in this blog post.
This not an issue of partisan politics, this is an issue of basic human rights and democracy. Please help to prevent a human tragedy in Burma by adding your blog and asking others to do the same.
By passing this meme on through the blogosphere hopefully we can generate more awareness and avert a serious tragedy. As concerned world-citizens this something we bloggers can do to help.
Personally I agree that the situation in Myanmar/Burma is dire, but is it any more dire than Darfur?
What about Ethiopia? The Congo?
Are millions of homeless refugees in Iraq not a tragedy? Or are they disqualified because they’re a partisan issue?
Where’s the blogosphere petition to end child slavery in Côte d’Ivoire?
Why is Myanmar/Burma getting all the coverage? Have the concerned world-citizens had their fill of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan?
– I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
Why Myanmar/Burma?
———-
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Big Dog’s Weblog, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
[...] Sometimes we just need to listen, or read anyway. Technorati Tags: world, crisis, Myanmar, Darfur, etc, etc, etc. [...]
[...] People who’ve trackbacked to this post: 1. Leaning Straight Up: Rush and the phony soldiers- The truth emerges. 2. The Florida Masochist: The Knucklehead of the Day award. 3. Blog @ MoreWhat.com: Picture of the Day. 4. The Florida Masochist: Weekly Dolphins prediction. 5. Woman Honor Thyself: No GPS for Muzlims eh. 6. Comment from breautiful Angel. 7. The Florida Masochist: Actress Lois Maxwell dead at Age 80. 8. Blue Star Chronicles: Free Myanmar - Birmania Libera - Burma Frei… 9. Potbelly Stove: Senate tomfoolery. 10. Adam’s Blog: The $5K Baby Giveaway. 11. Conservative Cat: Just When You Thought Hot Stock Spam Couldn’t Get Any Stupider. 12. walls of the city: a theory by any other name. 13. Nuke’s News & Views: “the+greatest+campaign+finance+scandal+in+American+history†Hillary Rodham Clinton. 14. Planck’s Constant: Crisis in Burma. 15. StageLeft: Why 1081081081234? 16. Right Truth: [?] Share This Sphere: Related Content [...]
Bill Roggio: Sr. AQI leader killed.
Bill Roggio has a new site: The Long War Journal. What I read today, gives me great pleasure. I would like to share a bit with you to get you to go read it. I’ll give you a hint, a top AQ …
(Sorry. I couldn’t figure out the trackback. lol)
Why Burma and not, say, Uzbekistan? Well, Uzbeks aren’t marching in the streets just now (you’ll recall a few years ago when protests there were violently put down, the western press did cover it, at least nominally). I certainly agree that the situation there deserves more attention, but it isn’t really the sort of thing the media are good at (see below). And with media coverage comes the public outrage exemplified by the blog petition.
Why Burma and not Darfur? Fair question–there’s probably quite a bit more loss of life going on in western Sudan. Yesterday, the BBC website led with an attack by Darfur rebels on peacekeepers. What distinguishes this? Well, it’s an event. Specific, within-the-last-news-cycle events are what the press covers. This, so far as I know, has been the norm for as long as there have been putatively objective western news media. All that’s changed is that the cycles have gotten shorter.
I’m not sayin’ this is a good thing, just saying that there’s no pro-Burmese bias at work. No vast conspiracy of Buddhist monks rigging the press (or the blogosphere). Just how it goes, for better or worse.