Star Trek

If you haven't seen the new Star Trek film then I highly recommend it! Even my housemate who has never been 'Trekkie', really enjoyed it!

Kelli Rudick live @ Joe's Pub, NYC - "If Only Either Could Solve Everything"

I thought it was pretty amazing so I thought I would share it on here..

Burma VJ

One for Lawrence and Dad methinks:

Anders Østergaardʼs award-winning documentary shows a rare inside look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the cameras of the independent journalist group, Democratic Voice of Burma. While 100,000 people (including 1,000s of Buddhist monks) took to the streets to protest the countryʼs repressive regime that has held them hostage for over 40 years, foreign news crews were banned to enter and the Internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even after they themselves become targets of the authorities.

View the Trailer Here.

Slap Guitar - Eppard Style

Since I've been studying Music at College I get the feeling sometimes that people associate me with classical guitar. As much as classical guitar is nice.. here is one of the styles I have adopted from Joey Eppard.

One more reason to work for google

Worth a watch from start to finish. I don't know what kind of corporate annual result bashes that Google is used to but this is cracking first class entertainment...

A Composition

http://www.myspace.com/howardbettany

Howard is far too modest to want to share this guitar composition he has put together, but it a beautiful piece and I really enjoyed it. Even tried to keep a beat with my newly purchased, second hand bongos; in the distant hope that one day, when Howard is a guitar hero, that he will let me be in his band...Needless to say I've got a long way to go. Good work Howard!

The Bettany Blog's 100th post is...

...about Burma again. However interest in the country doesn't stop at Shwekey, or a visit, an orphanage project or even a dissertation! Genuine concern for the people living there is a blessing and even today as news reaches us, Churches are being closed down by the Government. An email from a trusted friend, guide and translator reports that The Dai Church in Yangon has been closed by local officials. A church, that Dad and me visited during our trip in Feb/March(see picture).

I found this commentary by Neil Campbell, the EU Advocacy Manager of the International Crisis Group interesting in relation to the best ways to help Burma today. It is helpful in re-contextualising current international policy on Burma.

"Missing the Boat on Myanmar",
Neil Campbell in European Voice
By Neil Campbell
24 April 2009
European Voice

The EU should abandon a policy maintained by those with an eye on noble points rather than on new opportunities to promote change.

At next week's meeting of EU foreign minsters in Luxembourg, the EU will extend, for another year, policies on Myanmar that are widely recognised as ineffective.

There is no doubt that General Than Shwe and his repressive regime are the main culprits for the misery of the population. But in dealing with the country, the international community has to do more than simply rubber-stamp restrictive aid policies that are not showing results, neither promoting political change nor alleviating the impoverishment of the people.

The aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar last May, demonstrated that another option is available. The government - though initially an obstacle to relief efforts - eventually showed itself willing to address specific obstacles to aid delivery. Structures were put in place (mainly with ASEAN nations) to facilitate effective and transparent assistance.

This has not translated into improved behaviour by the regime in general, of course, but in the limited sphere of humanitarian operations, it shows that it is possible to effectively work alongside the government. The EU must recognise this precedent as an opportunity.

Driving with the rear-view mirror
While Europe has shown some flexibility in its approach - by allowing the possibility of humanitarian assistance since 2004, while making good use of targeted sanctions for naming and shaming the junta - its policy remains in the hands of those who would rather make a noble point than help improve socio-economic conditions on the ground.

EU policy is currently driven through rear-view mirrors, looking back to 1990. Yes, there have been good initiatives by the European Commission on the security of livelihoods and food supplies, education and health (such as the Three Diseases Fund to counter TB, Malaria and HIV/AIDS). But these remain negligible in scale. The indicative budget for Commission assistance to Myanmar for the period 2007-2013 was only €65 million. There is additional assistance in others projects and member-state initiatives, but assistance is barely making a dent on the extreme poverty.

An already disastrous economic crisis is being aggravated by the effects of the global economic crisis filter downwards. Poverty levels are extreme and the response inadequate: 90% of the population lives on less than $0.65 cents a day (€0.49). In neighbouring Laos the amount of external assistance per capita is around $30 (€23) a year; in Cambodia it is $50 (€38). The equivalent for Myanmar is $2.70 (€2.05) a year - a figure roughly comparable to what each European cow is worth per day in subsidies.

This is not just about getting assistance to those that need it. The EU has yet to take full advantage of the potential for de-politicising humanitarian and development assistance to the country. This presents the best opportunity to promote change in Myanmar.

The "Common Position" of the EU allows room for manoeuvre on assistance, but without a clear definition of how far that assistance can go, the Commission will be hobbled by a lurking political cloud over anything that could be deemed as "engagement".

Driving with a view of the long road ahead
Political restrictions on humanitarian and development aid should stop. The international financial institutions should be allowed to re-engage, focusing on policy dialogue, technical assistance and capacity building, since direct budgetary assistance and major project financing is not yet appropriate. Aid should be used in new ways: aiming at substantially raising income and educational levels, fostering civil society, improving economic policy and governance, promoting equality of ethnic minorities, and improving disaster preparation. The result will eventually be a loosening of the military's stranglehold on the economy, and could even result in improved governance and empowerment of non-state actors - exactly what the sanctions regime has been failing to achieve.

This may sound too good to be true, but once aid programmes gather momentum through interaction with local and international organisations on the ground, they also open the door for further efforts in wider humanitarian and development assistance. It is not a process that happens overnight, but it is the only option that will provide incremental improvements - significantly more than 20 years of failed isolation.

The aftermath of Cyclone Nargis revealed an opportunity to the international donor community. It would be a shame to squander it.