San Francisco Vigil for Burmese People

These are some photos I took today at the San Francisco vigil for the people of Burma in front of the Chinese Consulate from 12 noon - 1 pm. The last image shows Jack Kornfield addressing the crowd. The turnout was really strong and it felt good to have a way of showing solidarity with the monks and people of Burma in this terrible time of crisis there. Internet connections were largely shut down in the last 24 hours so the blogs in Burma have been silenced for the moment--very eery.

There will be another peaceful demonstration in downtown San Francisco on Monday, October 1 at 12 noon at Justin Herman Plaza, which is at the end of Market St. (near Embarcadero BART). Wear red and show your solidarity with the monks of Burma if you come!

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Monks Being Captured in Burma

Here are some powerful images from this incredible blog -- http://www.ko-htike.blogspot.com/ -- based out of Burma. And I discovered this website -- DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA -- which has good up to date info on the situation in Burma, much of it harrowing as hell. The soldiers are rounding up monks and other protesters in the middle of the night at the monasteries, so nobody sees them. A Japanese news photographer was shot in the head and killed today by a soldier. At least eight or nine others are known to have been killed today, including monks. And who knows what they do to the monks and others once they have them behind closed doors. I've heard an unsubstantiated rumor that Aung San Suu Kyi has been taken into custody by authorities--this from friends of friends inside Burma via email.

There is a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco tomorrow organized by Rebecca Solnit (one of my writing professors from graduate school) and Marissa Handler. Here's that info:

When: Friday (Sept 28) at 12 noon
Where: the Chinese Consulate, 1450 Laguna Street at Geary in San Francisco
(near Japantown)

Try to wear red (in solidarity with the maroon-robed monks), make signs, prepare to do both sitting and walking meditation.

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Violence in Burma

As feared, things are turning uglier in Burma with the clash between the Buddhist monks and the common people vs. the military junta in power there. Reports so far indicate that two monks have been killed and at least a hundred or more arrested (according to The New York Times and BBC News). The BBC News site has lots of background information on their site. Here's one passage from the BBC article that I found moving (but read the whole article via my links):
Monks marching to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly urged civilians not to join them.
"We monks will do this, please don't join us, don't do anything violent," they were quoted by AFP as saying.
One witness quoted by Reuters said civilians were shielding the marching monks.
"They are marching down the streets, with the monks in the middle and ordinary people either side - they are shielding them, forming a human chain," the witness said.

I'm really upset about this situation. The people of Burma deserve our full support. The level of bravery being shown by the monks and nuns is astonishing--men and women in monastic robes vs. trained soldiers with big shields and riot gear, not to mention tear gas and guns. UN peacekeeping troops should already be there, if the world wasn't so messed up.

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Troubling News Flash From Burma

I just received the following very disturbing report from the United States Campaign for Burma, which states that the military regime in Burma has ordered soldiers to shave their heads and they have ordered monks' robes for their soldiers from a local factory so they can infiltrate the peaceful demonstrations and act out in ways that would justify a crackdown on the current political marches. I can assure you that if any violence breaks out, it is not going to stem from true Buddhist monks in Burma. They have all taken very strict precepts that include the non-harming of other living beings under any circumstances.

Media Release from Burma Campaign UK

For immediate release 24th September 2007

Burma Campaign UK sources in Rangoon have reported that soldiers have been ordered to shave their heads, in possible preparation for infiltrating peaceful demonstrations. They would start rioting or attacking police, providing the regime with a pretext for a brutal crackdown on protestors.

Sources indicate that soldiers from Light Battalion 77 in Rangoon have been given the order. Sources also report that the regime has ordered 3,000 monks robes from a factory in Rangoon.

It is a tactic the regime has used in the past, including at the Depayin massacre in 2003, during which Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested. Regime militia dressed as monks were involved in the ambush which left up to 100 democracy activists dead. State television today reported that action would be taken against protestors.

"We know from experience that the regime is capable of opening fire on civilians", said Mark Farmaner, acting Director of Burma Campaign UK. The regime came to power on the back of a massacre in 1988 that left at least 3,000 civilians dead. They have also been accused by the UN of breaking the Geneva Convention for their deliberate targeting of civilians in attacks on ethnic minorities.

Despite the widespread expectations that the regime will use violence to suppress protest, the international community has been remarkably silent, with the French government being the only one to make a strong statement warning of consequences if the regime respond with violence. ASEAN has also expressed concern.

"The regime has been held in check by the peoples' respect for the monks and the fact that the world is watching, but the scale of protests means they will be looking for options that allow them to justify a crackdown," said Mark Farmaner, "The UN Secretary General and other world leaders must speak out and make it clear that a violent response in unacceptable. At the moment the international community seems to be willing to watch from the sidelines as the regime moves closer to a massacre. If the regime does attack protestors, this will have been one of the most widely predicted massacres in recent history, and makes a mockery any government's claim to be committed to human rights."

For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 07941239640.

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Monks Still Marching in Burma

These striking images of Buddhist monks and others marching and protesting the military junta (or dictatorship) in Burma (Myanmar) were in the New York Times today (photos by Associated Press and Agence France-Presse — Getty Images). One of my favorite Buddhist teachers is a Burmese monk named Sayadaw U Tejaniya. His monastery is Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya in Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma). He is an amazing teacher who was just here in the SF Bay Area visiting a few months ago. I attended his teachings for one day and really found them to be invaluable.

The military rulers in Burma have been abusing their people for far too long, so these protests are highly justified. I hope the world is finally waking up to what is going on there. Here's a little bit of the NYT article:

September 24, 2007

Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta

By Seth Mydans

BANGKOK, Monday, Sept. 24 — The largest street protests in two decades against Myanmar’s military rulers gained momentum Sunday as thousands of onlookers cheered huge columns of Buddhist monks and shouted support for the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Winding for a sixth day through rainy streets, the protest swelled to 10,000 monks in the main city of Yangon, formerly Rangoon, according to witnesses and other accounts relayed from the closed country, including some clandestinely shot videos.

It came one day after a group of several hundred monks paid respects to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi at the gate of her home, the first time she has been seen in public in more than four years.

The link between the clergy and the leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement, the beginnings of large-scale public participation in the marches and a call by some monks for a wider protest raised the stakes for the government.

So far, it has mostly allowed the monks free reign in the streets, apparently fearing a public backlash if it cracks down on them in this Buddhist nation.

Monks were reported to be parading through a number of cities on Sunday, notably the country’s second largest city, Mandalay, where an estimated 10,000 people, including 4,000 monks, had marched Saturday...

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Call to Action on Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi

Things are heating up with the military government in Burma right now. Buddhist monks have been marching in the streets as part of a protest. Even celebs like Jim Carrey are getting involved in bringing awareness to this situation. Many deep bows to Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Death by Microwave Popcorn (Almost)

Troubling story in today's New York Times about the guy whose health was compromised by a daily microwave popcorn habit. I had heard not long ago that workers in microwave popcorn factories were suffering terrible problems from constant exposure to the chemicals used in the artificial butter flavoring. This is the first known case of a consumer being so badly effected. Here's an excerpt (written by Gardiner Harris for 9/5/07 NYT):

Dr. Cecile Rose, director of the occupational disease clinical programs at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said that she first saw the Colorado man in February after another doctor could not figure out what was causing his distress. Dr. Rose described the case in a recent letter to government agencies.

A furniture salesman, the man was becoming increasingly short of breath. He had never smoked and was overweight. His illness had been diagnosed as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs usually caused by chronic exposure to bacteria, mold or dust. Farmers and bird enthusiasts are frequent sufferers.

But nothing in the Colorado man’s history suggested that he was breathing in excessive amounts of mold or bird droppings, Dr. Rose said. She has consulted to flavorings manufacturers for years about “popcorn workers’ lung,” and said that something about the man’s tests appeared similar to those of the workers.

“I said to him, ‘This is a very weird question, but bear with me. But are you around a lot of popcorn?’ ” Dr. Rose asked. “His jaw dropped and he said, ‘How could you possibly know that about me? I am Mr. Popcorn. I love popcorn.’ ”

The man told Dr. Rose that he had eaten microwave popcorn at least twice a day for more than 10 years.

“When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it so much,” Dr. Rose said. “That’s heated diacetyl, which we know from the workers’ studies is the highest risk.”

Dr. Rose measured levels of diacetyl in the man’s home after he made popcorn and found levels of the chemical were similar to those in microwave popcorn plants. She asked the man to stop eating microwave popcorn.

“He was really upset that he couldn’t have it anymore,” Dr. Rose said. “But he complied.”

Six months later, the man has lost 50 pounds and his lung function has not only stopped deteriorating but has actually improved slightly, Dr. Rose said.

“This is not a definitive causal link, but it raises a lot of questions and supports the recommendation that more work needs to be done,” Dr. Rose said.

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