I was talking to some Canadian friends of mine recently who here for a visit, and was slightly shocked at their ignorance of the recent Burmese 'situation'. The fact that we Canadians take pride in being a bit more worldly than our ignorant cousins to the south (not all of them, of course, it's just a generalization, but one that's depressingly true), kind of flew out the window.

I took a few minutes - maybe too many - to bring them up to speed on what's happening there, and had to explain to them who Aung San Suu Kyi was, which surprised me even more. I realize that I may know a bit more because of where I live, but it still caught me a bit off guard. I mean, this woman has been under house arrest for more than a decade, has missed her children growing up, the death of her husband overseas and has denied herself the right of a life - all because she believes in the power of freedom and the ideals of democracy.

It's clear that the ignorant, incompetent, frightened Generals in charge of Burma weren't going to relinquish power, even when a UN Envoy asked nicely (what does the UN do these days, anyway?), but did it really catch anyone off guard? Did anyone seriously expect anything different to happen?  The supposed 'progress' being made by the UN envoy isn't anything but bullshit posturing by a regime that knows nothing but how to terrorize people.

As it stands, I urge you to read a bit about this courageous woman and what she's given up to fight for her country and her people, not to mention the monks that decided to stand up for what's right. It's the least we can do.