Two Women of the Moment: Hillary and Aung San Suu Kyi

CNN International's early morning show today had the spotlight on two dynamic and very different women in their 60s. One piece of news left me sad while the other left me quite amused.

News that Saddened: The Case of Aung San Suu Kyi
The 64 year old Burmese pro-democracy leader, Ms. Suu Kyi has been found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American who swam to her lakeside house to stay for 2 days. She received 3 years hard labour but was given a suspended sentence of 18 months house arrest. House arrest again? I'm beginning to believe conspiracy theories that the Burmese authorities may have allowed the American to undertake his mission because it provided the opportunity to keep Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest since her previous sentence was just about to expire. The situation has finally become completely absurd. When is enough, enough? When will world leaders start putting real pressure on the Burmese junta for change?



News that Amused: Secretary of State (Mrs.) Hilary Clinton loses her cool

Source: Reuters. Mrs. Clinton in Kinshasa

There is someone I feel sorry for in the Democratic Republic of Congo today. That person is a student who posed a question for the US secretary of State (Mrs.) Hilary Clinton that was clearly 'Lost in Translation' from French to English . The student was (apparently) asking what President Obama's opinion was on Chinese trade interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The question came out as: "what does your husband think of Chinese trade interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo".
Mrs. Clinton was clearly riled up by the question and retorted: “My husband is not the Secretary of State, I am.” Although it was amusing to watch, one cannot blame Mrs. Clinton for getting a little hot under the collar. She is trying to do her job in her own right but is somehow still a little overshadowed by her famous husband. Of course, sensational reports of former President Clinton's recent mission to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American journalists hardly helped his wife situation. Apparently she was bombarded with questions about the mission when she arrived in Kenya. Additionally, Mrs. Clinton probably thought she detected some of the famed subjugation of women associated with the African continent when she heard the question. I still can't understand how "husband" and "President" could be mixed up in French?? Oh well!

So here's a thought: how about President Obama sending Mrs. Clinton to Burma to see what can be done about Ms. Suu Kyi? Now that would really be killing two birds with one stone; Ms. Suu Kyi potentially free and Mrs. Clinton really stepping out into the light in her own right. Plus it would make for a great Sister-2-Sister moment.