Lee Kuan Yew caned me - such an honor

Ouch ! Please, sir, may I have another - whack ! Attended the US-ASEAN 25th anniversary dinner with special guest of honor Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. I got a chance to meet him and shake his hand - I asked "What about Burma?"... the Minister Mentor paused, looked at me, and growled loudly - "I've given up on Burma!!!" to which my only reply was "c'mon...." ( maybe I shouldn't have bothered him during dessert... my bad )

It was a nice evening at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in DC. George Schultz, U.S. Secretary of State for President Reagan and Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State for President Nixon were there too and said some nice things about Lee. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell was there and told a story about how Lee almost caned him when he was a youngster. And Senator Jim Webb gave the toast. Fun. President of the US-ASEAN business council, Alexander Feldman, awarded Lee with a life time achievement award. More fun. Lee gave a nice long speech and even took on some Q&A which was nice.

The Lady strikes a pose but silent - weird

The Johns Hopkins SAIS hosted a Burma forum last week ( Oct. 30, 2009 ) in Washington, DC. Big players and experts - Dr. Ibrahim Gambari, Ambassador Scot Marciel, Dr. Andrew Selth were all talking heads. The event also flew in Dr. Khin Zaw Win and many other activists... even heard Dr. Zarni was in town. Event sponsors were the Konrad Adenauer Foundation USA, Henry Luce Foundation, CNA, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, Brookings Institution. Dr. David Steinberg was there too, and if you know Dr. Steinberg, then you know this event was all about how to engage Myanmar.

And in today's news, Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs was in Yangon meeting with Suu Kyi in a public place and with photo ops too. Weird she didnt say anything. Did she even open her mouth to smile ?

Is everyone really buying into this ruse from the junta ? Is everyone really going to just watch on for the 2010 election ? Do you really think Suu Kyi will ever be free ? I guess history will decide. Where's Rep. Dana Rohrabacher when you need him ?

( Taylor Swift has nothing to do with this story but she's so purdee...)

President Obama visited MIT on Oct. 23 and Speedy was there too. Senator John Kerrey was there too ( check out his testimony for the Climate Change and Energy Bill at http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=319353 ). MIT is making all kinds of new stuff so we can have more options for energy sources. Speedy in particular likes solar panel windows. Just make the whole outside of the building out of solar panels. Cool, right ? or is it hot ? MIT is an interesting place... walk around the campus and listen to the students' conversations - "where's the party, dude?" - NOT... instead "what do you mean ferroelectronics and the pyrochlore phase are unrelated ?!!!" Speedy is impressed... geeks do rule the world.

It takes brains to save brains...

Back in March 2009, Dr. Elena Rozhkova, from Argonne National Lab (ANL) teamed up with organizers to put on a symposium with the latest on nanotech stuff.

The advances in new functional materials enable brand new types of devices and structures. Advanced materials have importance due to their tailored and unique characteristics, and their wide range of potential applications. Advanced materials and devices contribute to the advancement of a number of applications, including medicine and health, information and communication, space, transportation, structural materials, textiles, agriculture and food science, and the environment. Interdisciplinary research in the area of nanoscale materials plays a vital role in creating these advanced materials.

Now Elena is working on a "Cancer-seeking nanomissile" Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material (A High-Performance Nanobio Photocatalyst for Targeted Brain Cancer Therapy). Brain tumors kill thousands of people every year.

"It is a real example of how nano and biological interfacing can be used for biomedical application," said scientist Elena Rozhkova with Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials. "We chose brain cancer because of its difficulty in treatment and its unique receptors."

Berman is not Burman

US House Committee on Foreign Affairs had a full committee hearing on Oct. 21 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building. The audience was not overflowing like the last meeting on Senate side, but still a good crowd. I felt sorry for Chairman, Rep. Berman having to hold the committee with so many whacko Republicans ( I didn't say 'conservative' becos Judson is a conservative himself ) but whacko Republican haters. I can report that Rep. Ros-Lehtinen yawned in the face of Asst. Sec. Campbell at least 8 times... and that Rep. Rohrabacher hates Obama more than he hates the Burma regime... and no one knows how to pronouce Burmese name...s - ing kwak yuu foo... what the ? c'mon staffers fill in your bosses with the info... and way too many staffers snickering... that's why Colin Powell went off on y'all. Asst. Sec. Campbell was quite the gentleman though and answered all the questions/attacks with intelligent replies. But he won't really know what's up until he visits Myanmar which he says will be in "a few weeks".

( Beyonce has nothing to do with this story... but she's so hot... and I forgot to take my camera to the hearing... )

"Where's my hi-five ?" Obama dissed Lama ?

"Human Rights are actually human failures... "

ASEAN nations unveil a landmark human rights watchdog this week, but critics charge that it will be both toothless and include in its membership one of the world's worst human rights offenders - military-ruled Myanmar. And what's wrong with including Myanmar, it can't try to improve itself ? The fates of Burma, Tibet, or Darfur is of little importance to the U.S. or the world in general. These are human failures--local political disasters for those populations. The U.S. can not truly be expected to right such wrongs, However, there is pressure to leave Iraq or Afghanistan/ Pakistan, but is there staggering solidarity for efforts to overthrow the likes of Saddam, Castro, Kim..? Where is the International World Order that would condemn such evil and put some teeth behind it ? But there is no such political consensus.
Instead we have international organizations that wet themselves over waterboarding one too many times. Securing human rights has a staggering human cost, and as we've learned in the last decade, the effort to secure these rights has to come from within. Is one Iraqi civilian's life worth Saddam's? It's for that Iraqi to decide, not for us. No country is untainted by moral failure nor unstained by innocent blood. But only the few that maintain strong principles of individual freedom can alter their own course and lead by example, instead of by force. The so-called Burma-problem has reached its final chapter. This is a matter for the people of Myanmar to decide. America can remain to champion liberty but it need not offer up blood or treasure. There will be an "election" in Myanmar ( there was an election in 1990 and it was free and fair, remember ? )and a new government will take the administration. Will this story have a happy ending or will it be spoiled ?

Hey, you need a lab coat when you come in here...

U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins hosted a visit from President Barack Obama. On 30 September, the final day of the 2009 fiscal year, the president chose NIH as the place to highlight the first year of spending from his 2-year, $787 billion economic stimulus package. The $5 billion disbursed by NIH to more than 12,000 grants is "the single largest boost to biomedical research in history," Obama said.

Obama came into the lab and said this place is boring. Is NIH losing its lustre ? Where's all the cures for all the diseases ? Is this really cutting-edge science ? Cancer research still continues to get the big bucks but is it worth it ? Is the trend gonna start going towards cancer prevention or still looking for the cure ?

Burma is not Vietnam (in case you didn't know)

Kurt M. CampbellAssistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs gave testimony at a Senate hearing for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee chaired by Senator Jim Webb.Dirksen Room 419 was packed. Never seen so many people for Burma hearing. Senator was greeted by tee shirts that read "Burma is not Vietnam"... I guess that needed clearing up... Next week there will be a full committee hearing on the House side. Let's see who shows up.( see the video of hearing here... )http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1705667530?bctid=42844450001

Low carbon emitting hair style...

The AAAS-Hitachi "Science & Society" lecture was held in Washington, DC on Oct. 14 and the speaker was good ole Ernie Moniz - the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has served on the faculty since 1973. Professor Moniz served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy from 1997 until January 2001 and, from 1995-97, as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.

The title of the talk was - "Energy Technology for a Low Carbon Future". He used a cool term "technology optimism" meaning we got the science to take care of the problems... but he added, we need to back it up with the appropriate public policy. He said he doesn't advocate any particular energy source as long as it is low on the carbon emission...