Shall we dance

Upon reading that Deborah Kerr has died, I felt the urge to post this video before turning in.



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TGIF

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Colbert announces presidential pursuit

Okay, it's old news at this point, but I thought I'd front page it anyway...

Colbert announces presidential pursuit (Yahoo News)

OF COLBERT AND FAVORITE SONS AND DAUGHTERS... (article in The Nation)

Stephen Colbert announces presidential bid, but is it the truth or truthiness? (CNET)

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Has Burmas' Junta Gone too Far?

At the time of this writing, pro-democracy groups from Burma estimate the number of Buddhist monks killed by regime violence in the past two weeks to be as low as 200 and possibly many more. Those numbers make the regime's official estimates of a dozen or so monks killed absurdly low, and they highlight a serious error in strategy by the junta - one that is likely to be their final undoing.

Although the regime wants news of their ongoing and brutal repression to spread far and wide within the country (so as to terrorize its citizens out of continuing to protest), they are simultaneously attempting to cover up the extent of the repression against the monks themselves. By sequestering the monks away and focusing the most recent rounds of open violence on student leadership, the generals assume they are killing two birds with one stone - both quashing dissent (including amongst the monks themselves) and giving the appearance of stability rather than blatant cruelty. But they are failing on both counts.

The resistance continues, even amongst the monks, in a number of forms. Many monks have been engaged in a hunger strike for up to two weeks now. Others have been instrumental in protests of other types, including prayer vigils in honor of their fallen brethren. By violently striking out against that specific part of society - the revered, symbolic soul of Burma - the regime may have applied the final straw necessary to galvanize many who have thus far only stood on the sidelines. A common regime tactic in striking out against a nonviolent mass movement considered threatening to their power is to accuse the group of being "terrorists" or "enemies of the people." But in this case, the generals are in quite a dilemma because they know no one will believe that sort of fiction about peaceful, much-beloved monks. So, their answer is to hide away the monks and continue to terrorize the people.

However, yesterday's arrests (and reported torture) of three suspected movement leaders, including one of the alleged 8888 generation leaders, is evidence not of control by the regime, but a lack of it, especially because the movement has committed itself to the use of nonviolent methods in its resistance. ...

Read the full article

We very much hope this analysis is correct, and that the generals' days are numbered. However, the BBC's reporting is not optimistic.

Japan's balancing act on Burma
Defian Burma will not Change
Japan Adds to Pressure on Burma
UN Envoy Condemns Burma Arrests

Note:Look in the righthand sidebar on any of the above linked items for related stories, background, Q&A etc.

Light a virtual candle for the people of Burma

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Gizmo is for lovers

My wife, Jackie is in a lot of pain most of the time, so although I've been experimenting with Gizmo since about mid April, the time was never quite right for her to play the Butterfly Game with me until about two weeks ago, and again this past Thursday. Each session lasted about a half an hour because it's hard for her to stay in one position for longer than that.

In the first session, we started during the second half of 'our' favorite movie, "The Quiet Man." The second half hour, last week, we listened to selections from Rod Stewart's "Great American Song Book." I have to say that the results of those two sessions were astounding.

I have often talked about the moments when Lovers feel like two halves of the same person. Jackie and I have felt that way quite often over the years, but while playing Gizmo, we were taken to a whole new level. As the butterflies grew closer together, and finally touched, a tangible electrical field enveloped us. The intensity of this gentle electrical field grew as our hearts maintained and sustained identical frequencies, and was most intense at .6HZ, the frequency most associated with Oneness and Empathy.

Jackie knows almost nothing about computers, and even less about the theory behind how Gizmo works, but as we were surrounded by this electricity, tears of Love were streaming down our faces. We are looking forward to our next sessions, but Jackie has become busy taking care of the new kittens, and they have become a distraction for her. So it may be another week or so before we can try it again.

My instinct tells me that there is great potential for healing in that electrical field. In nearly 24 years together, I don't think we've ever experienced anything like it. Just imagine the difference between a flashlight and a laser and you'll begin to understand what happened.

We were totally amazed.

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