You Say Potato, I Say New Sanctions

While the United Nations is busy as a pack of coked-up beavers going tuber-ular about all things potato, the Bush administration is about to implement a new round of unilateral sanctions against the military junta that is crushing monk's skulls in Burma.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush had threatened possible additional sanctions "if the Burmese regime did not end its repression" when he announced strengthened measures last month.

"Unfortunately the Burmese regime did not respond," he told reporters, saying Bush would make a public statement at 1:50 p.m. EDT (1750 GMT).

Fratto said the Treasury Department, responsible for implementing U.S. sanctions against Myanmar, would also have an announcement about the new steps being taken in response to the crackdown on protests against 45 years of military rule.

But he declined to give details.

Washington imposed a new set of sanctions last month on senior Myanmar military officials, toughening U.S. measures that had been in place for years but had forced little change.

The United States has little leverage over the junta in Burma, but it is at least doing more than talking about spuds.