With the extension of Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year and the junta's insistence on carrying on the second round of voting on a new constitution despite the devastating cyclone that has killed up to 130,000, it is apparent that the rulers of the tiny nation are in the process of consolidating even more power for themselves while hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims get precious little help from the government:President Bush says he is deeply troubled by Burma's decision to continue the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since 2003. He called on Burma this week to release all of its political prisoners and to begin a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, the National League for Democracy, as well as with other pro-democracy and ethnic minority groups. U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack says the extension of the Nobel Peace laureate's house arrest was hardly a surprise,...(Read Full Post)