U Gambiri, who has recently had a couple editorials in the Washington Post was arrested in Burma.  From the Democratic Voice of Burma: 

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Nov 13, 2007 (DVB)–U Gambira, the leader of the All-Burmese Monks Alliance and one of the organizers of the public protests in September, has been arrested in Singaing township in Mandalay division, according to a family member.

He was arrested on 4 November in Singaing, having been on the government’s most wanted list for his part in instigating the demonstrations.

U Gambira is 27 years old and is also a spokesperson for the People’s Movement Leader Committee.

Burmese authorities have detained U Gambira's mother, sister and two of his brothers in the past month when they were unable to arrest him.

The Burmese comedy team "The Moustache Brothers" have been poking fun at the regime through political satire for 30 years.  Because of this, they have been locked up and even tortured on more than one occasion, yet they continue bringing light to the country.  Video news report:

 

Snippets from an interesting/depressing article in the Globe and Mail:

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But her surprising burst of fame in the state media is far from a sign of progress, analysts say. Instead, it is the latest example of shrewd tactics by the military junta to delay reform and maintain its grip on power.
...
Most analysts say the regime is still showing no willingness to accept reforms or offer concessions to the monks and dissidents. Meanwhile, international pressure is losing momentum and attention is shifting to new hot spots such as Pakistan.

After 45 years in power, Myanmar's military rulers have become adept at manipulating Ms. Suu Kyi for their own benefit, allowing her brief periods of freedom or short appearances in the public eye to defuse international criticism.

"Whenever the government is pushed into a corner, they always play the Aung San Suu Kyi card," said Aung Zaw, an exile from Myanmar who is editor of Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based magazine with close connections to Myanmar's democracy movement.

"They play it shrewdly and carefully," he said. "They've done this so many times in the past, and nothing ever happened. I don't see any progress at the moment. I don't think the government has changed any of its policies."
...
A spokesman for Ms. Suu Kyi's party said she was "optimistic" about the prospects for dialogue with the regime. But human-rights groups noted that her meeting with her party leaders was confined to a government-controlled guest house, likely to be filled with eavesdropping devices. The Nobel laureate is still under house arrest, and the junta has insisted it will not negotiate with her unless she abandons her support for international sanctions against Myanmar.

The regime has remained hostile to most diplomatic efforts. The UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was not permitted to meet any of the top military leaders in his latest visit to the country. The regime also angrily rejected his proposal for negotiations between Ms. Suu Kyi and the government under his mediation.
...
"The generals aren't going to hand over power, no matter what others want," said Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"The regime is still sitting pretty. They can circumvent the international sanctions by trading with their Asian neighbours. They're just waiting for the pressure to fizzle out and the attention to move on."

The regime's decision to allow Ms. Suu Kyi to meet the liaison minister and her party leaders last week was "something of a public relations exercise," Mr. Storey said. "I don't see this going anywhere. The government is doing the minimum necessary to assuage the international concern. They don't lose anything by doing this. I severely doubt it will lead to any breakthrough."

Myanmar is feeling no pressure from its Asian neighbours, which have been happily doing energy deals and weapons deals with the junta. At a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next week, Myanmar's officials will be permitted to attend and participate.
 

 

 

In the second such instance after the September protests in Burma, over 50 monks marched peacefully in Mogok town in upper Burma.

A protesting monk told the BBC Burmese service that, "the peaceful walk is because so far the government has not complied with the demands of the Burmese Monk Alliance made in September. We are not afraid because we are not destabilizing the state and not resorting to violence".

"In the future, if they (junta) move towards democracy, they will have to accept and welcome these peaceful protests. We will not have to care about action being taken by means of unfair laws and so we will protest," the monk added.

Full article here. 

The trickle of horrible pictures continues.  Both are of dead monks - The first is presented in the summary but the second you'll have to click "Read More" for.  Be warned - it is VERY gruesome and it looks like he has been hacked to death with a machete.  When are the soldiers with some good in their hearts going to rise up and help the people get rid of the evil criminals in the regime!?

 

 

 

In August, the Burmese people began to write a new chapter in their determination to find peace and freedom. Burmese monks peacefully protested to bring change to our long-suffering country. As we marched, hundreds of thousands of Burmese and our ethnic cousins joined us to reinforce our collective demand: that military rule finally give way to the people's desire for democracy.

Video and the Internet have allowed the world to witness the brutal response directed by Gen. Than Shwe, Burma's de facto ruler and military leader. Than Shwe unleashed his soldiers and the regime's thugs, who attacked us. Once again the streets in Rangoon and Mandalay ran red with the blood of innocent civilians seeking to save our country from the moral, social, political and economic crises that consume us.

Hundreds of our monks and nuns have been beaten and arrested. Many have been murdered. Alarmingly, thousands of clergy have disappeared. Our sacred monasteries have been looted and destroyed. As darkness falls each night, intelligence units try to round up political and religious leaders.

Military rule has brought Burma to collapse. Our economy is in ruins. Once the breadbasket of Asia, Burma cannot feed itself. Once we were a light for education and literacy; now, the regime has closed schools and universities. Once we breathed the air of freedom; now, we choke on the foul air of tyranny. We are an enslaved people.

My colleagues and I welcomed the strong actions of the United States to impose financial and travel restrictions on the regime and its enablers. Australia is following this model, and the European Union should as well.

Than Shwe and his fellow military leaders have sought to portray this uprising as a singular event, now over. A thin veneer of quiet has replaced the sounds of gunfire on city streets. Unfortunately, many in the international community buy in and actively support this propaganda.

At the United Nations, China and Russia continue to block the Security Council from facilitating a dialogue between democratic forces and the regime. Within our region, senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have condemned the regime's actions but have done little else. Perhaps most disappointing, the world's largest democracy, India, continues to provide military assistance and trade deals that help finance the regime's war on its people.

What will it take for the world to realize that Burma's generals are a menace and that because of their misrule, drugs, diseases and refugees from Burma spill across borders and wash through other societies, ruining lives?
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The recent steps by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his special adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, to open a dialogue with Burma's generals are welcome and necessary. The United Nations can help bring peace to Burma. However, the Security Council is the proper forum. All efforts must focus on making council members take the steps necessary to coerce the generals to come to terms with the people. This involves setting a timetable for the regime to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; allow free assembly; and give a full accounting of the thousands who have disappeared. The council should also seek a ban on all arms sales to the regime.

People ask whether I am disheartened and whether this latest spasm of democratic activism is over. The answer to both questions is no. Although I am wanted by the military and forced to hide in my own country, I am awed by the bravery of so many, including sympathetic security agents of the junta who opened their homes to democracy leaders and me.

Since August, I have seen my country galvanized as never before. I have watched our 88 Generation leaders bravely confront the military. I have watched a new generation of activists join to issue an unequivocal call for freedom. And I have watched as many in the police and military, sickened at what they were forced to do to their countrymen, give so many of us quiet help. The primary tools wielded by Burma's senior generals, a climate of fear and the use of violence, are no longer working -- and with nothing to lose, we are no longer afraid.

On Tuesday, more than 200 monks staged a protest in Pakokku. They stared military officers in the face. Their spirit and determination are a warning to the regime and those that prop it up.

Burma's Saffron Revolution is just beginning. The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago. We have taken their best punch.

Now it is the generals who must fear the consequences of their actions. We adhere to nonviolence, but our spine is made of steel. There is no turning back.

It matters little if my life or the lives of colleagues should be sacrificed on this journey. Others will fill our sandals, and more will join and follow.

 

Myanmar’s military government ordered the expulsion of the top U.N. diplomat in the country on Friday in response to the envoy’s criticism of the regime.

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“This outrageous action ... is an insult to the United Nations and the international community,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

The junta gave a note to foreign diplomats and U.N. representatives that accused Petrie of going beyond his duties and “expressed the government’s intention not to continue his assignment here,” United Nations Information Center spokesman Aye Win said from Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.

Petrie, like other U.N. officials and diplomats, serves in Myanmar only with the consent of its government and was not expected to stay without an invitation.

His office said on Oct. 24 that Myanmar’s government was not meeting the economic and humanitarian needs of its people, and that that was the cause of September’s mass pro-democracy protests, which were violently put down by the government.

“The concerns of the people have been clearly expressed through the recent peaceful demonstrations, and it is beholden on all to listen,” the office said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “is disappointed by the message from the government of Myanmar,” spokeswoman Michele Montas said at U.N. headquarters in New York. “The secretary-general has full confidence in the United Nations country team and its leadership and appreciates their contribution to the improvement of the socio-economic and humanitarian conditions for the people of Myanmar. 

Full article here.

A month after the crackdown, protesting monks are returning to the streets.  From the Democratic Voice of Burma:

Around 200 monks from several monasteries in Pakokku staged a walking protest at 8.30 this morning, according to a monk who participated in the march.  The monk said that the protest was a continuation of last month’s demonstrations as he said the monks’ demands have still not been met.

"Our demands are for lower commodity prices, national reconciliation and the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners," the monk explained

... 

The monk said there would be more and larger demonstrations in the future.

"We did not have much time to organise the protest as we did not actually plan for it, so there weren't a lot of monks. But there will be bigger and more organized protests soon," he said.

The monk said that civilian bystanders supported the protest but were afraid to express this openly.

"We would like to urge people not to be afraid since we are doing this for good future of our country," he said.
...

 

Full article here  

From Facebook:

 

We will be holding the Chevron Protest through FAX and PHONE calls on FRIDAY November 2nd from 11am Eastern Time (This is 8am Pacific Time)

FOR A LIST OF INTERNATIONAL OFFICES, PLEASE VISIT: http://protestchevron.blogspot.com

Chevron pays millions of dollars in oil and gas royalties to the current military Junta. These payments help keep the dictatorship in power.

We urge Chevron to escrow these payments and set them aside for the legitatimate elected government of Burma headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Why this specific day and time? It is the time of Chevron's Earning/ Shareholder's Meeting.

Chevron Corp
6001 Bellinger Canyon
san Ramon, CA 94583
United States

Executive Office Number: +1 925 842 3232

 

Insist upon speaking to someone in Public Relations or Investor Relations.

Phone +1 925-842-1000
Ask for David O'Reilly, CEO

Bill Clutter, Assistant Manager, IR

Phone: +1 925-842-3526

Fax +1 925 842 3530

Starting Times in various time zones:

US Pacific Time (SF, LA) - 8am
US East coast Time (NYC) - 11am

London - 4pm
Madrid- 5pm
Tokyo - 1pm Saturday afternoon
Sydney - 2pm Saturday afternoon

You can also send faxes over the Internet -

http://www.freefax.com
http://www.tpc.int
http://faxzero.com
http://www.efax.com

Fax +1 925 842 3530

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

From Burma-Watch:

 

We are asking for your compassionate support of the peaceful monks and civilians who have recently been brutality beaten and gunned down in Burma (Myanmar) by the military dictators. The situation in Burma is far worse than you can imagine. Human rights groups have documented serious genocide, raping, and enslaving activities committed by the Burmese military dictators.

Please join the "International Burma Awareness on Youtube" campaign! By simply clicking the following links on either October 31 or November 1, 2007, you can make the world aware of the poor Burmese monks and civilians. The goal is to produce 200,000-400,000 views on each targeted video so that Youtube administrators will put them onto the front page of Youtube.

Targeted videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPSsKcpxJMk (Video from Burma: SHOOT on SIGHT)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NySuaJ2B20E (Jim Carrey - Call to Action on Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UqQaizM15Q (Inside Myanmar: The Crackdown)

**Remeber to rate the videos 5/5 stars if you have a youtube account. Refresh the videos will increase the number of views.

Other relevant videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPKsm7lmQQE (Missing Monks in Myanmar Burma Dead Body Found)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gONJmADgX88&NR=1 (Rocketboom : Myanmar/Burma)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WU_DmXp578 (More Deaths in Burma Protests - part 2)