Friday, August 29, 2008
IRIN Asia | Asia | Myanmar | MYANMAR: Small-scale livestock farmers feel the pinch | Economy Food Security | News Item(MORE)
", 28 August 2008 (IRIN) - For 42-year-old Than Than and her husband, making ends meet has never been harder.
Their main source of livelihood took a direct hit when Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar’s Yangon Division in May, sweeping away their 200 ducks and five water buffaloes valued at over US$1,000.
Unable to sell eggs or rent out her buffaloes to plough her neighbour’s rice fields, her plight is indicative of many small-scale livestock farmers.
“I can barely make 1,200 kyat ($1) per day out of my livestock business now… Before the cyclone, I could make over 5,000 kyat ($5) per day,' the mother-of-three said, waving her arms at some ducks swimming nearby."
Scoop: Free trade including Myanmar dictatorship(MORE)
Free trade including Myanmar dictatorship is a slow motion disaster for workers and democracy in both nations
Alliance Party media release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday 29 August 2008
The Alliance Party says the news that New Zealand has negotiated a free trade deal with ASEAN nations that include the fascist dictatorship of Myanmar is a disgrace of historical proportions and is a slow motion disaster for workers in New Zealand and in Myanmar."
Joe Biden and Burma(more)
JOE BIDEN
"The Democratic Party senator from Delaware, Joseph R. Biden, has been under the glare of the international media spotlight this week after being nominated as US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s running mate for the US election in November.
Joe Biden is familiar to Burma lobbyists in Washington, DC. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has been prominent in the shaping of US policy on Burma in recent years, say observers in the US capital.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama applauds with his running mate Joe Biden after his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver Thursday. (Photo: AP)
Alongside senators Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein and congressmen Joseph Crawley, Joseph Pitts and Tom Lantos (who died in February 2008), Biden is often outspoken in his criticism of the Burmese regime."
Soldiers Still Watch Suu Kyi(more)
Soldiers Still Watch Suu Kyi: "Although the Burmese generals don’t want military personnel to show interest in domestic politics, detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s surprise snub of the UN special envoy last week has become a popular talking point among soldiers and officers in Burma, according to several military sources."
Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine No.45 (August 28, 2008)
Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine No.45 (August 28, 2008)
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"A single scale. This is Yasuo Fukuda."
-- Message from the Prime Minister (Provisional Translation)
A single scale. This is Yasuo Fukuda.
There is a saying that I like very much: "Dragons do not have snake
scales."
"A dragon is covered with hundreds of thousands of scales.
But if even one of them is a snake scale, then that is no true
dragon. It is merely a snake that has turned into a false dragon."
My take on this expression is that no matter how excellent
a certain policy may appear to be, if it contains a single lie,
you will not be able to trick the people into buying into it.
I believe that politicians must constantly feel and fear the sharp
gaze of the people on them.
Unless the people are able to be certain that the political realm
is safe, they cannot be reassured. Only when the people feel safe
and reassured will they definitely come to place their trust
in politics.
Safety, a sense of reassurance, and trust. How can these be shared
with the people? I am confident that the many policies that
I promote from the public's viewpoint will meet with
the understanding of the people.
The Diet session will be convened next month. Thorough discussions
will take place on international cooperation and on policies
to safeguard the people's safety and sense of reassurance,
including bills to establish an Agency for Consumer Affairs and
economic measures to ensure a sense of reassurance in the people's
lives as they face issues such as rising prices. We will promptly
implement the necessary measures accordingly.
Safety and a sense of reassurance are truly the foundations for
faith in the future. I am determined to steadily produce results
one by one, as unpretentious as my efforts may seem. I believe that
it is only by steadily plodding forward on that path that we will
be able to restore trust in politics and the administration.
The Japanese national who was kidnapped in Afghanistan,
Mr. Kazuya Ito, has been killed. The authorities worked day and
night following his kidnapping to gather information and it is
deeply regrettable that his life has been taken.
As a member of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Mr. Ito spent
more than four years in Afghanistan teaching agricultural methods.
He was loved by the children there. I am deeply angered
by the inhumane act of taking the life of this young man
who selflessly put himself in danger in his devotion to bettering
the lives of the people of Afghanistan.
I pray for Mr. Ito's repose and express my heartfelt condolences
to his bereaved family.
At this very moment, conflicts continue to rage in various regions
around the world and many people continue to suffer from poverty,
among other difficulties. By helping those people and regions,
we can carry the torch that Mr. Ito has passed to us. Moreover,
doing so is the role that Japan, a Peace Fostering Nation, must
carry out.
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