Burns Club Of Chiang Mai

[Rinrada]

I have received a couple of "in house" personal Emails from a number of readers-posters -lurkers (only joking) who have shown an interest in the possible formation of a Burns Club in Chiang Mai.

Whats the expression - small acorns to big tree or something.

Anyway as said before i am for the time being esconded here in the smoke and apart from a couple or 3 visits a year cant see me being a permanant fixture in LOS /in town for a while yet ...still in saying that one never knows.

Anyway what I will do is have a word with the World Federation and find out "the score"...must be a few rules /advantages etc.(legit) and take things further.

The Anunual supper usually takes place in and around Jan.25-26 (again worldwide) and I got quite a few over here to attend.

Could be a very good social calander event over the next few years and will go a small way of putting Chiangers on the map.

I still think its a good idea and if anybody is interested in pushing it I would be happy to chip in.

I will have a word with similar organisations in Hong Kong and Singers and

check them out.

FYi..got this from a friend in the big apple (assume no copywrite)

(abbreviated by rinrada)from this years address at the UN.

Bearing in mind the problems we have around the place maybe a little bit of common sense might germinate from some of these words.

We are almost into yet another new year...and so.... a well lets see.

anyway:

INAUGURAL ROBERT BURNS MEMORIAL LECTURE @ the U.N.

by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Inaugural Robert Burns

Memorial Lecture, "The Brotherhood of Man", which he delivered at

United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday, 13 January:

It is a great pleasure indeed to be here with you to celebrate the

great Scottish poet Robert Burns and to help you inaugurate what I

hope will become an important series of lectures.

Let me also say that my own presence here tonight is not because I can trace my roots to Scotland. Yes, as we all know, there is a town of Annan there, whose founding dates back many centuries. And yes, the town even has a walking club and festival, and that is one of my favourite pursuits.

But my name has a quite different origin.

Let's just say, as Burns himself would, that we are

all brothers. But then, you might well ask why a United Nations

Secretary-General was eager to take part in this event. At first

glance, one might think there is an ocean of distance between the

hard-nosed give-and-take of international diplomacy as it is

practised here in New York, and the lyrical verse that emanated from

rural Scotland two centuries ago.

But look closer and I think you will see why I am here.

To take just one example, Burns was born into poverty, and spent his youth working on a farm. Burns's poems dignify and illuminate the struggle faced by the vast majority of the world's population today.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that Burns had, and I

quote, "given voice to all the experiences of common life; he has

endeared the farmhouse and cottages, patches and poverty, beans and

barley; ... hardship, the fear of debt...". End of quote.

Burns has also been described as a poet of the poor, an advocate for political

and social change, and an opponent of slavery, pomposity and greed --

all causes very much supported by the United Nations.

He was even, as a tax collector, a civil servant of sorts, though I should stress the

United Nations has no interest in that line of work.

But it is one of Burns's most famous lines -- "a Man's a Man for a' That" -- that I

should like to serve as the touchstone for my remarks tonight. And in

particular his prayer, in the same poem, that "Man to Man, the world

o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that".

Living together is the fundamental human project -- not just in towns and villages from Scotland to South Africa, but also as a single human family facing

common threats and opportunities.

The year just past has seen dramatic challenges to that project. The war in Iraq, failed negotiations on opening up the global trading system, and other

events have revealed deep fissures. These are not just differences

over cotton exports or compliance with UN resolutions. There are

worldviews at odds. For many decades now, States and peoples have

woven a tapestry of rules, institutions, and principles that, it was

hoped, would promote prosperity and protect the peace. Today, this

fabric may be starting to unravel, and I sense a great deal of

anxiety about that, around the world. Not because the system has been

uniformly successful; quite the contrary, war and poverty have proven

painfully chronic.

But because it does offer at least some possibility of order and justice in what so often seems a Hobbesian world. At a time when it is essential for us to tackle our problems together, we seem to be slipping into mutual distrust, protectionism

and fear.

And at such a time, the persistence of prejudice should be

especially troubling to us all. We should all feel pain when women

are denied their freedom and dignity. We should all recognize the

peril to our rights when anyone is dehumanized because of the colour

of their skin, or when indigenous peoples are marginalized and held

in contempt. And we should all recognize the great power of

intolerance to foment violence and generate the conditions that can

abet ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism.

One of the most disturbing manifestations of bigotry today is Islamophobia -- a new word for an old phenomenon. The Crusades and colonialism are just two

examples of a poisoned past in which Muslims were first portrayed as

hostile or dangerous, and then subjected to aggression and

domination. In more recent decades, some have viewed Muslim countries

as culturally unsuited to democracy.

The West's late response to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, and the continuing tragic situation between Palestinians and Israelis, have led many Muslims to wonder

whether their grievances and plight have an equal claim on the world's conscience.

Since the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States, which were condemned throughout the Muslim world, many Muslims, particularly in the West, have found themselves the objects of suspicion, harassment and discrimination. And too many people see Islam as a monolith, and as intrinsically opposed to the West -- when n fact Western and Islamic peoples have a long history of commerce, of intermingling and intermarrying, and of influencing and enriching

each other's art, literature, science and much else besides.

Despite a discourse of centuries, caricature remains widespread, and the gulf

of ignorance is dangerously deep. These issues, at once intensely

personal and of crucial importance to all members of society, have

far-reaching implications for international harmony and peace.

Muslims -- reformers and traditionalists, believers and secularists

-- are addressing them with great vigour, in particular the rights of

women, the extremist threat and the contours of Islamic democracy.

Followers of other faiths owe it to them, and to themselves, to

distinguish between disagreement and disdain; and between fair

comment and unfounded condemnation. It would be unconscionable to add

any further to the resentment and sense of injustice felt by members

of one of the world's great religions, cultures and civilizations.

Another dangerous hatred blights our world: anti-Semitism. No one

should underestimate the depth of the scars left by the long history

of persecution, pogroms, institutionalized discrimination and other

degradation, culminating in the Holocaust, that has been inflicted on

the Jews. Yet new wrongs are heaped upon old: by those who seek to

deny the fact of the Holocaust or its uniqueness, and by those who

continue to spread lies and vile stereotypes about Jews and Judaism.

The recent upsurge of attacks on Jews, synagogues, cemeteries and

other Jewish targets in Europe, Turkey and elsewhere show this hatred

to be not just the stuff of history, but virulent still. The United

Nations itself is still living with the legacy of the unfortunate

resolution that declared Zionism to be a form of racism and racial

discrimination, even though the General Assembly revoked it in 1991.

In some cases, anti-Semitism appears to be a by-product of the

Israel-Palestine conflict, particularly with the escalation of

hostilities in the past several years.

Criticism of Israeli policies is one thing. But it is quite another when such critiques take the form of attacks, physical or verbal, on Jewish individuals and the

symbols of their heritage and faith.

The situation is painful and complex enough as a political matter, without adding religion and race to the debate. No one should be allowed to use criticism of

Israel's actions as a mask for anti-Semitism. Nor, on the other side,

should Israel's supporters use the charge of anti-Semitism to stifle

legitimate discussion.

The United Nations, for its part, must reject all forms of racism and discrimination. Only in so doing, clearly and consistently, will it be true to its Charter and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to people of all creeds and colours

striving for their dignity. It is one thing to bemoan the persistence

of prejudice, and quite another to actually do something about it.

All too often, when faced with bigotry and nihilism, political

leaders, governments and ordinary citizens are silent or complacent.

Such passivity must not be allowed to masquerade as tolerance. It is

more like complicity, since it emboldens the intolerant, and leaves

victims defenceless. True tolerance is an active, even assertive

quality, based on mutual respect. Its aim must be, not to eliminate

differences between human beings, but to embrace and even celebrate

them as a source of joy and strength.

That is the world ethic that we need: a framework of shared values within which different peoples can coexist.

Men and women must be able to follow their own paths without

making war on each other. They must have sufficient freedom to

exchange ideas. They must be able to learn from each other. And that

means that each nation must not only respect the culture and

traditions of others, but must also allow its own citizens -- women

and men alike -- the freedom to think for themselves. It is, first

and foremost, governments and individual men and women who must

fulfil these responsibilities of citizenship -- either in the

community of nations, or face to face, in the daily interaction of

diverse peoples that increasingly characterizes our world. But this

battle is also of paramount importance to the entire United Nations,

and the Secretariat is strongly committed to doing its part,

including through seminars and educational activities in the months

ahead.

The enterprise of living together is not easy. Including all

people in one's circle of concern requires us to go beyond our

immediate family and friends, and to accept wider notions of kinship

and connection. Even then, things will happen that will strain our

capacity for dialogue and understanding. Burns himself was no

stranger to dark turns of events. As he wrote, "man was made to

mourn". But we have just begun a new year, at least according to the

Gregorian calendar. One can almost, still, hear the echo of millions

of people singing "Auld Lang Syne", Burns's great ode to friendship.

So let us allow hope to be renewed. Let us admire the enduring

resonance of the work of Robert Burns.

And let us dream, as he did, of a true brotherhood -- and sisterhood -- that embraces and encompasses all humankind, and allows all people a chance to enjoy their inalienable rights, dignity and freedom.

I would like to express my great appreciation to the Scottish Operations of British

Executive Services Overseas for the invaluable work they carry out in pursuit of that goal, and for their strong support of the United Nations.

Finally, while I know this is not a traditional Burns supper, I do

hope you will let this hungry Secretary-General try some haggis at

some point in the near future.

Thank you very much.

[Rinrada]

Its now getting near that time of the year when we all start a bit of reflection and re-assement of what we are all up to and what life might chuck at us in the future.

No doubt with most of the rest of the world in about 2 weeks time you/we will all be standing up (or in some cases lying down)celebrating the dawn of yet another New Year (at least for the ones who make it )

Been asked for the words of one of Burns greatest (belived to be no.3 most sung after Happy Birthday and White Christmas) songs that almost everyone attempts to sing but very few seem to really know the words, so here is the lowdown (with suitable English translation)

Auld lang syne!

Incid.there is No "for the sake of" and Syne is pronounced as in "sign" and Not "Zine"....

All those Anjans out there would of course know that but really MPR..

So from the deserts of Iraq to Times Square.N.Y-Sydney,Aus.Tokyo-Beijing-Chiang Mai ...to ...wherever yer are.......Sanuk

Scottish Lyrics

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne!

Chorus

For auld land syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!

And surely I'll be mine!

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

Chorus

For auld land syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,

And pou'd the gowans fine;

But we've wander'd mony a weary fit

Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

For auld land syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere

And gie's a hand o thine,

And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,

For auld lang syne.

English Lyrics

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,

And never brought to mind.

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,

of old long ago

Chorus

For old, long ago, my dear,

For old, long ago

We'll drink together yet

For old, long ago.

And surely you'll have your glass!

And surely I'll have mine!

And we'll drink to friendship,

For old, long ago.

Chorus

For old, long ago, my dear,

For old, long ago

We'll drink together yet

For old, long ago

We two have run through the country lanes,

And have pulled the daisies fine;

But we've wandered many a weary footstep,

Since old, long ago.

Chorus

For old, long ago, my dear,

For old, long ago

We'll drink together yet

For old, long ago

And here's a hand, oh trusty friend

And give me a hand of yours,

And we'll take a good drink,

For old, long ago.

[Rinrada]

Burns Night in Chiang Mai

Bit of info for the social event of the year

Cant make it this time but maybe next year

Hope it goes well......slange...

Burns Night, on Saturday, January 29, 2005 at 8 p.m. at Chiengmai Gymkhana Club.

An evening of Scottish culture, bagpipes, poetry, haggis, dinner and drinks.

Dress traditionally if possible; casual if preferred.

Limited tickets are available at 480 baht. Call Adam 0 6920 1409 or email [email protected] for reservations.