And in Burma

The junta announces the rules for its fake constitutional referendum.

Opponents of military rule aren't getting the option to give input.

From AP:

The announcement broadcast on state TV and radio evening news said the junta had passed a law covering the matters such as the preparation of electoral rolls, vote counting and postponement and cancellation of voting.

Oh, and that Nobel Prize winner who won the last real election in 1988 and was put on house arrest?

Taken care of.

Guidelines for a constitution released by the government late last year would bar Suu Kyi from national office because she was married to a foreigner — her late British husband, Michael Aris — and enjoyed the rights to a foreign passport, residency and other privileges as a result.

Meanwhile, China is trying to deal with activists calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, due to the nation's continued support for the military rulers.

Also AP:

The 88 Generation Students group, which was instrumental in last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar, accused China of bankrolling and arming the junta and failing to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between it and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party.

The 88 Generation Students joined a growing group of critics urging an Olympic boycott over complaints ranging from Beijing’s human rights record to its failure to more actively press Sudan — where China is a major oil buyer — to end violence in the Darfur region that has killed at least 200,000 people.

And in a Tri-State connection, while I'm not the biggest fan of Kentucky's Sen. Mitch McConnell, credit is certainly due for his action last week:

Weeks after the House of Representatives voted 400 - 0 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the leader of Burma’s democracy movement Aung San Suu Kyi, 75 US Senators have introduced an identical measure today in the US Senate.

The effort is spearheaded in the US Senate by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The measure is supported by Presidential front-runners Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama.

Photo: Supporters of Myanmar's National League for Democracy, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, shout anti-junta slogans near the entrance of the NLD's headquarters during Union Day ceremonies Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008, in Yangon. (AP Photo)