Mia Farrow v. Beijing, Self-rule for southern Thailand, Sri Lankan casualties

Mia Farrow’s campaign against the Beijing Olympics is gaining ground (Spielberg wil not be the “Leni Riefenstahl” of the ’08 Olympics) but the Chinese embassy in Washington complains that linking Beijing to Darfur is unfair, and others say Darfur is not Beijing’s only sin. Rambo IV may not be garnering Oscar nods in the West, but Burmese activists thank Stallone for calling attention to the junta’s crimes, and the DVD is said to be a hot seller on the ground in Burma. Why does the Burmese junta lie about its supposed reforms? Because it can, according to this editorial in the Vancouver Sun. Thailand’s new government may be weighing self-rule in some form or other for the Muslim-majority provinces of south Thailand. The provinces were seized from Malaysia in the early twentieth century. Sri Lanka heats up: The Red Cross is alarmed by the increase in civilian casualties. More than 180 civilians have been killed and 270 have been wounded since the beginning of the year.