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POPSBurma, Chevron, slave labor, Rice and more The pipeline was built with slave labor, forced into servitude by the Burmese military. The original pipeline partner, Unocal, was sued by EarthRights International for the use of slave labor. As soon as the suit was settled out of court, Chevron bought Unocal. Chevron’s role in propping up the brutal regime in Burma is clear. Rice served on the Chevron board of directors for a decade. She even had a Chevron oil tanker named after her. While she served on the board, Chevron was sued for involvement in the killing of nonviolent protesters in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Like the Burmese, Nigerians suffer political repression and pollution where oil and gas are extracted and they live in dire poverty. The protests in Burma were actually triggered by a government-imposed increase in fuel prices.
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POPSGlobal Hypocrisy on Burma As for the Burmese people themselves what the world’s wilful impotence in dealing with their brutal rulers indicates is that ultimately they will have to achieve democratic rule in Burma entirely on their own strength. The people of the world will of course support them in whatever way they can but to expect governments around the globe to help topple the Burmese military regime is as unrealistic as asking the regime to step down on its own. There is no option but to keep the struggle going.
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POPSBurmese Monks: Brave and Peaceful Freedom Fighters We may never know the true number of murdered civilians, or the fate of many monks and others who have been abducted. We do know that, despite arrests, tear gas, the closing of monasteries and flying bullets, the protest continues, at least for now.
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POPS Violent crackdown launched in Myanmar Hot days for the Burmese, hard times for the junta. For more info about Aung San Suu Kyi, check out these clips I posted more than one year ago: * New bid to free Burma's Suu Kyi * Burma's "The Lady" - Official Home Page * In The Quiet Land
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POPS Afghan Women Demand Protection The groups--the Afghan Women's Network, Agency Coordination Body for Afghan Relief, Afghan Civil Society Forum, and the Foundation for Culture and Civil Society--demanded drivers, bodyguards, and technology for community leaders to keep them safe from terrorists; financial support for the families of terror victims; and international aid to address what they called the root causes of social insecurity.
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POPSMusharraf faces new questions over Taliban Although western diplomats remain squeamish about publicly criticising Pakistan, military commanders, facing mounting casualties, are increasingly outspoken. At a hearing of the US Senate last month, Nato's supreme commander, General James Jones, said that Quetta in Baluchistan was the Taliban "headquarters". According to one report, Nato has traced the Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, to an address in Quetta.
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POPSGiant Buddhas: Rubble is history, too. 'The destruction of the Buddhas by the Taliban in the 21st century, it is history also,' said Nasir Mudabir, the site director for the Afghan Ministry of Information, Culture and Youth. 'If you reconstruct them, you destroy the history.'
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POPSCoke opens in Afghanistan They got "democracy" first, then comes Coke and Fanta. All they need now is cable TV channels full of soap operas, and some pop corn. Next step could be hotdogs and baseball matchs.
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