reply to post by old_god
Um I cofounded the MN Free Burma Coalition back in 1995 with a Burmese refugee who had been a lawyer in Burma but then had to flee for his life during
the 1988 massacres by the Burmese military. A great overview of the Burmese military regime out of British colonialism is
O.K. so actually I went to join a Buddhist Burmese monastery also -- in 2009.
Anyway around this time my Burmese friend sent me information very much anti-Islam -- racist and ignorant.
I didn't correct him -- because first of all these types of ignorant hate views are deeply engrained in people but also people who are victims of
severe abuse then tend to take it out on others -- repress their pain and then project it onto others to oppress them.
So luckily the sanctions against the regime were renewed by the U.S. recently
details here but
keep in mind that these sanctions provide a loop hole for Unocal already using slave labor in Burma.
When it comes to U.S. imperialism the corporations use slave labor and support military regimes.
I did present this issue backed with hundreds of pages of documents to the University of Minnesota -- I made presentations to various committees.
It wasn't until I started to tear up in front of one committee that the issue started to move forward - -as a volunteer I stated this is the most
egregious issue that needs to be changed and yet the administration up till then had ignored it.
So then the University divested it's $1.5 million in Total Oil stocks.
That was a start -- but foreigners remain naive about the whole situation -- for example the military regime uses slave labor to build meditation
retreats for foreigners dabbling in Buddhism and also uses slave labor for tourist attractions.
The Burmese want international support but also know that the corporate investment just props up the regime.
So Iran is urging U.N. actionedit on 7-8-2012 by fulllotusqigong because:
(no reason given)