BURMA STILL A CESSPIT FOR GENERALS

The new Avon catalogue is out and I do love a browse even though most of their trash is now made in China.

They are advertising a new ring with cubic zirconias and a pear shaped ruby and my Avon lady was sure I'd love to buy that. She got too much information on where China buys its rubies.

Fortunately she's used to me asking the hard questions about where the goods are manufactured and which ones turn up at the $2 Emporium.

Which brings me to this blog entry about the latest raw deal for dissidents.

No rubies for me.

Also Stephen Conroy can stick his restrictions on internet use in his right ear.

BLOOD JADE

This is the Pharkant Gyi Hmaw jade mine which in 2000 was still using manual labour to remove mining debris.

This photo from the UKSYU website shows people going through the tailings of a mine in Kachin looking for anything of value. A landslide at the Hmawsizar mine killed at least 20 people. The region has frequent landslides and flooding due to the rivers being clogged by mining debris and deaths are not reported to the outside world.

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games announced that the design for the medals would include jade from China's Quinghai province to show a part of Chinese culture. The Committee publicly stated that their officially licensed products were made with Quinghai jade not jadeite from Burma but most of the jade products in the market place are made from Burmese jade.

Burmese jadeite is a global business controlled by Burma's military regime. The regime has effectively consolidated military control over the entire gems industry by eliminating small and independent companies from mining and forcing all sales to go through national auctions held by government ministries in Rangoon.

Gems are now Burma's third largest export and provide the Generals with an important source of foreign currency. Much of this cash comes from China and none if any filters down to the Burmese people.

If you're buying overseas, always ask where the gem or jade comes from. We've all heard of 'blood diamonds' and now we can add 'blood jade' to the banned list.

STILL VIRUSING

I'm still not sleeping well so I've been staying in the warm in front of the TV to the wee small hours.
I don't know what I'd do without a remote control, going from Channel 7 to Star Wars to SBS.

There was a bit of a snarky item in the Age this morning about two Olympic sports:
"Rhythmic gymnastics. The dry-land equivalent of synchronised swimming and just as silly......."
"Men's handball. A sport created by people who couldn't make the basketball or soccer team and played by countries who aren't very good at anything else......"

I don't see the difference between handball and beach volleyball except maybe more clothes but it still takes skill and this is coming from someone who's lucky to catch a cold. (I was ambushed by this virus, I didn't catch it)

The Rhythmic gymnastics which I landed on during my late night channel surfing was a joy. Maybe the heats weren't as good, I didn't see them just the finalists with the twirling ribbons. I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time so the idea of twirling a long silk ribbon and twirling a body with graceful moves without falling over doesn't seem to be silly just really difficult plus.

I'll be glad when it's all over. I'm sick of bursting into tears everytime the green and gold gets a medal and I did last night at the diving. I don't think I took a breath during M's dive and I loved the look on his face and his tears when he saw the score.

I'm not a sports fan so I'm blaming all this emotionality on this stupid virus. The bugs are going for a gold medal in endurance body destruction.

CALIFORNIA AND GAY MARRIAGE

Ray Almeida, a school principal just purchased a wedding ring. Almeida, 47 is marrying his partner, Alan, a 46-year-old accountant. He wants a ring that says, I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.

Jeffrey Dreiblatt, 47 and Willie Walker, 44, a legal assistant plan on marrying in San Francisco.
Dreiblatt said,"When I was younger, I didn't understand the point of getting married and replicating heterosexual life. But over the years, my thinking has changed. The law in California and the implications for New York spoke to us and said, 'now is the time'."

Ed Schultz, a social worker who became domestic partner to Steve Berlin last year plans to marry on July 10. "Marriage has a certain dignity," he said. "When I go to work and say, 'I'm domestically partnered', that's something different than saying 'I'm married'."

Armistead Maupin, one of the city's most famous authors, who married his partner, Christopher Turner in Canada last year, will probably marry him again in California. "Straight people have grown up thinking they're entitled to a fairytale wedding. One of our great advantages as gay people is that we've been forced to forge relationships without that fantasy. In doing so, we've figured out what's at the core."

Faced with a wilted economy, water shortages and price shock of petrol, Californians are welcoming Gay Marriages with open arms ( holding bank accounts). A study by the University of California predicted that over three years gay nptials would contribute $US684 million to the state's wedding industry and $US64 million to the state budget.

Social justice only comes when the price tag is high enough not when discrimination is socially unacceptable.

A FROCK AND A BIGGER BOAT

Dame Helen Mirren wore this for the naming ceremony for the P&O superliner Ventura. Very last century but I love it.

This is the superliner, 115,000 tonnes, carrying 3,600 passengers and 1,200 crew. The ship even has a West End-style theatre and rock-climbing facilities.

Que?

You'll find me propping up the bar not climbing rock faces.

This is the Atrium....with stairs. Who needs rock climbing with these. I'll be in the bar.

OLD WORK OF ART BUT A NEW VIEW

From NASA's satellite images comes this fantastic view of Lake Carnegie in Western Australia.

STORM SURGE

There are severe flood warnings for the east coast of England and the Thames Barriers are due to be closed. Low pressure and strong winds coinciding with peak high tides and a predicted tidal surge of 3 m. coming down the North Sea have the experts watching. The winds are predicted to be close to 50 kmph. The above map shows the areas most in danger of severe flooding if there were no flood defences.

Of course none of this is due to global warming, climate change, changing ocean currents, it's just Mother Nature throwing a tanty. Nothing to worry about, gurgle, splutter, gurgle as islands all over the globe start disappearing.

ETHICS

"Those conditions are so horrendous that the only moral and ethical thing to do is to leave."

Psychologist Laurie Wagner on the decision by the American Psychological Association not to ban its members from aiding interrogators at Guantanamo Bay. Instead, the group approved a resolution reaffirming its opposition to torture.


So this from the country that puts itself out as the leader of the free world.