Whenever I see pictures of General Than Shwe, the current dictator of Burma, I wonder who he imagines he’s kidding with all those fancy medals he wears on his chest. Burma hasn’t fought a foreign foe in living memory, so I guess all the gongs must be some kind of jest. Unless, of course, he’s awarded them to himself for the glorious victories he and his army keep winning in their ceaseless war against the Burmese people.