No money for disaster relief but a billion for Man United

So far I have found the cables published by Wikileaks to be an awful lot of very little. Perhaps I am to cynical in my middle age but most of the revelations are not really surprising.

That said, today’s Grauniad published details of one cable that made me angry. It seems that Than Shwe, utter piece of human shit and leader of the Burmese military junta, considered making a $1bn (£634m) bid to buy Man Utd around the time it was facing rising anger from the United Nations over its appalling response to the 2008 cyclone that killed 140,000 people.

Than Shwe was urged to mount a takeover bid by his grandson, according to a cable from the US embassy in Rangoon. It details how the regime was thought to be using football to distract its population from ongoing political and economic problems.

The proposal was made prior to January 2009, Months before the Burmese junta had been accused of blocking vital international aid supplies after Nargis struck, killing 140,000 people.

Than Shwe reportedly concluded that making a bid for United might "look bad" at the time, but the revelation that the proposal was even considered is likely to fuel criticism of the regime's cruelty. The senior general instead ordered the creation of a new multimillion dollar national football league at the same time as aid agencies were reporting that one year on, many survivors of the cyclone still lacked permanent housing, access to clean water, and tools for fishing and agriculture.

The mooted price tag for Manchester United was exactly the same as the aid bill to cover the most urgent food, agriculture and housing for the three years after the cyclone, as estimated by international agencies including the UN.

According to Forbes magazine's valuation of the club at the time, $1bn would have been enough to acquire a 56% controlling stake.

Than Shwe then reportedly coerced and bribed eight leading business and political figures to establish teams and ordered them to spend large sums on imported players and new stadiums.

Another example of how the Burmese regime does not give a shit about the people of Burma. That they would have even considered spending $1bn on Man Utd shows breathtaking callousness. BastardsSource URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Burma
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The Lady is freed at last

At last Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest by the Burmese Junta. In and of itself this is a great day. For what it's worth I am delighted but I can'tt help wonder what next or how long before the vermin junta and their parliamentary puppets contrive to return her to captivity. Let's see what happens next.

Nevertheless it is my deepest wish that she sees the junta and their puppets consigned to the gutterSource URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Burma
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Burmese junta squeaks home in surprise election win

Burma’s military has claimed a shock victory in the country's first election in 20 years, winning 80 per cent of the seats. This will give the junta a wafer thin majority.

''We have won about 80 per cent of the seats. We are glad,'' said a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the junta's political arm, who did not want to be named.

The USDP member said turnout was more than 170 per cent, despite muted activity at polling stations on election day.

“We are most grateful to those people who came back from the dead to vote for us some of them voted up to 500 times. Such devotion to our party is touching”, said

Still victory was far from assured: “It was only thanks to a sustained campaign of intimidation, arrests and a trumped up charge against Aung San Suu Kyi” that we were able to win.”


Needless to say the election was an utter sham which will do absolutely nothing to better the lot of the Burmese people. That said it is interesting to see that the National Democratic Force, the main pro-democracy party, may win almost half the 37 seats in Rangoon, the country's former capital.

Not that it will make a jot of difference: the military will retain a quarter of the seats in the two houses of parliament, according to the constitution.

Elected lawmakers in both houses can nominate a presidential candidate to compete against the military-appointed legislators' contender but somehow I doubt that this person will stand a chance of becoming presidentSource URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Burma
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Burmese elections will be free and fair – official!

Burmese foreign minister keeps straight face when declaring elections will be free and fair!



Well according to Burma's foreign minister U Nyan Win who has declared that the junta is committed to a "free and fair'' vote in the upcoming national election on November 7; one which will be "a critical phase of its (Burma’s) political transformation process.''

In a speech to the UN General Assembly he said that more than 3,000 candidates from 37 parties would take part in the vote for 1,171 parliamentary seats.

"Such a large participation made it crystal clear that the elections become virtually inclusive,'' the minister said. "With its ample experiences and lessons learned in holding multiparty general elections in the past history, Burma is confident in its ability to conduct the elections in an orderly manner.

"Whatever the challenges facing us, we are committed to do our best for the successful holding of the free and fair general elections for the best interest of the country and its people.''

Well there you go. I bet you’re all convinced by U Nyan Win’s reassuring words… I know I am! I daresay some fellow leftists will continue to view the junta as a good anti imperialistic, anti American bunch, while, as usual, solipsist libertarians will not give a damn… Hiho

When I say reassured, I mean reassured that the man is talking bollocks. There are four words missing from this election: AUNG, SAN, SUU and KYI.

As for experience of multiparty elections, the vermin in charge of that blighted country have experience of ignoring any election they find inconvenient (to wit a 1990 landslide for Aung San Suu Kyi)

Come 8 November I can predict that the Union Solidarity and Development Party will be major winners. That this party is headed by Thein Sein, the current Prime Minister and thus beloved of the junta is a mere coincidenceSource URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Burma
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