Headlines (Corrupt; Hanley is getting paid; malls are really being targeted lately; teacher appreciation)

Myanmar junta hands out aid boxes with generals' names

Myanmar's military regime distributed international aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.

The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid, though the junta took over its first two shipments. The government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday, but foreign disaster experts were still being barred entry.

State-run television continuously ran images of top generals -- including the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe -- handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.

One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand." -- the Sun-Sentinel

What a joke.

First, Myanmar seemed unwilling to accept any outside help for their suffering civilians. Now, they seem to to be slightly softening that stance -- but ONLY if those same civilians are being duped into believing that these care packages are a benevolent gift generously bestowed upon them by their powerful government...and absolutely no one else.

It's irrational behavior like this that makes Myanmar (and much of the world's other 3rd world countries) seem corrupt, xenophobic, bloodthirsty, and frankly, uncivilized to Westerners. It's like their backwards in every conceptual way. And for even the most unbiased and impartial mind, that level of stubbornness (and that's being kind..."savagery" would actually be more fitting) is almost completely unfathomable.

Their own countrymen are dying because of starvation, infection, and illness. And instead of doing the right thing (which fall somewhere inbetween saving lives and letting people rot to death), the Burmese government have attempted to use this disaster for political gain. They're capitalizing on the spilled blood of tens of thousands -- and if some estimations are correct, eventually over 100,000 -- for faux-patriotic propaganda and political posturing. They're drumming up national support from their citizens by doing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what is in their benefit and best interest...funny how that works.

Myanmar government officials are a bunch of criminals. And not the fun and entertaining white-collared criminals we have here in the U.S. that get into sex scandals and misappropriation of taxpayer funds; no, these are the evil villain, atrocities-against-humanity kind of criminals. Really deplorable stuff.


Florida Marlins working on $70 million deal with Hanley Ramirez

Lambasted for their major league-low $21 million payroll and perpetual trading of star players, the Marlins are finally keeping one in the fold.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez told an acquaintance he has agreed to the framework of a six-year, $70 million extension. That ranks as the richest contract in franchise history, topping the six-year, $61 million deal Gary Sheffield received in April 1997. -- the Sun-Sentinel

Wow, way to go Marlins. I didn't think they had it in them. Coming from the cheapest organization in the MLB, this is a very big deal. We're currently in 1st place and off to our best start in franchise history, so it's extremely reassuring to see our owners actually take the initiative and lock up Ramierz for the long haul. That's a huge gesture of goodwill to a fanbase that this team has alienated a thousand times over. We've got a good thing going here, so it's great to see us making the effort to keep it together. And who knows, with the way he's exploded since his rookie season in 2006 and the way he keeps improving, this $70 million contract could end up being one of the biggest discount deals in the league. He can be A-Rod without A-Rod's salary.

And if we can just shore up the tailend of our starting pitching rotation (that means you Miller and Nolasco), we can really be a force all throughout the Summer and, hopefully, well into the Fall.


Possible break in Boca mall murder case

Police say they are questioning a man arrested for disorderly conduct at the Aventura Mall to see if he has possible links to the murders of a mother and daughter at the Town Center mall in Boca Raton. -- the Sun-Sentinel

Not to make light of a terrible situation, but I was at the Town Center mall yesterday and I actually read this article while I was at the Apple Store. That was kind of surreal.


Woman donates kidney to her former English teacher

Twenty-two years after graduating from high school, Angie Collins is now her former English teacher's favorite student.

Collins, 40, donated her kidney this week to Darren Paquin, who teaches English at Elwood Community High School, where she graduated back in 1986.

Collins' husband, Dean, said she offered Paquin one of her kidneys after she learned that Paquin was experiencing kidney failure. -- the Sun-Sentinel

When I was in 9th grade English honors, Mr. Chandler taught me the parallels between the heroic journeys of Odysseus and Luke Skywalker; taught me that Mercutio's death was far and away the most tragic thing about that play; taught me that Steinbeck was inspired by Robert Burns' awesome poem To a Mouse for his novel's title; and taught me that John the Savage's feet pointed "south-south-west, south, south-east, east..." because his neck was broken and his body hung limp. He introduced me to literature, something worth devoting my life to.

I would think that's just about worth a kidney.