Monday, March 02, 2026
Iran war--the death toll and damage toll mounts--copied and pasted from LinkedIn
Lewis M. SimonsLewis M. Simons • 1st1st Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist | Author of “To Tell The Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent”; “Worth Dying For”; “The Next Front”Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist | Author of “To Tell The Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent”; “Worth Dying For”; “The Next Front” 46m •
46 minutes ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and wide-scale Iranian reprisals expanded Monday as the United States pledged to send more troops to the region. The U.S. military expects to endure additional casualties in its operation, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said in a rare on-camera news briefing, adding that accomplishing objectives will take “some time” and, “in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work.” The briefing, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, came after U.S. Central Command reported that a fourth U.S. service member had died of injuries suffered in Iran’s initial retaliatory salvos over the weekend. Earlier Monday, Centcom said that three U.S. fighter jets were mistakenly shot down overnight by Kuwaiti amid active combat but that all six crew members safely ejected. As the war entered its third day, Iran continued its attacks on several Persian Gulf states. Lebanon’s Hezbollah responded to the killing of Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with rocket and drone attacks on Israel, prompting Israeli strikes in the suburbs of Beirut and other strongholds of the Iran-allied group.
— The Washington Post, Mar. 2
THE FOG OF WAR...AND OF WAR BRIEFINGS.
Twilight over Burma--rare--Mrs Inge Sargent, the former Hsipaw Mahadevi (Queen's) true story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_3PCvI0gBA
I knew her and her husband Tad Sargent. They were a beautiful couple. I stayed with her several times when they lived in a house and last saw them in 2016 when they were in senior housing.
I interviewed her several times,once from the radio station when Dr.Michael Aris, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's husband passed away.
I miss them--very brave abd devoted couple.
Rest in Protest.
Her memoir of the same name is published by University of Hawaii Press.
Movie still.
Master and Commander based on novels--maritime warfare in the age of sailing ships--Russell Crowe-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUy9HuPOpZs
I saw this in a movie theater when they still existed.
U Thaw Kaung--The Ramayana in Myanmar--Journal of the Siam Society--
https://thesiamsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2002/03/JSS_090_0i_UThawKaung_RamayanaDramaInMyanmar.pdf
U Thaw Kaung is my elder brother and I was in Bangkok at the time and so could attend this lecture.
Sunday, March 01, 2026
From Library of Congress site--
Dramatic performances of the Ramayana emerged in the Konbaung Period (1752-1885), when royal minister Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa converted the Ramayana Jataka into a typical Burmese classical drama; he also composed theme music and songs for its performance. Ever since then, Ramayana performances have been very popular in Burmese culture, and Yama zat pwe (Rama dramatic performances) and marionette stage shows are often held. Scenes from the Ramayana can also be found as motifs or design elements in Burmese lacquerware and wood carvings.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668039/
Could not find full series of this--From Chao Phra to Irrawaddy-- a fictionalization of
Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa--
I think I can do better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Chao_Phraya_to_Irrawaddy
You will notice the beautiful scenery in Zulu--here from Zulu wiki--
Most of Zulu was shot on location in South Africa. The mission depot at Rorke's Drift was recreated beneath the natural Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg Mountains. (This landscape was more precipitous and dramatic than the real Rorke's Drift, which is little more than two small hills). The set for the British field hospital and supply depot was created near the Tugela River with the Amphitheatre in the background. The real location of the battle was 100 kilometres (60 mi) to the northeast, on the Buffalo River near the isolated hill at Isandlwana.
Other scenes were filmed within the national parks of the then Province of Natal. Interiors and all the scenes starring James Booth were completed at Twickenham Film Studios in Middlesex, England. The majority of the Zulu warriors were real Zulus. The 240 Zulu extras who were employed for the battle scenes, were bused in from their tribal homes more than 100 miles away. Around 1,000 additional tribesmen were filmed by the second unit in Zululand. Eighty South African military servicemen were cast as soldiers.[11]
The film was compared by Baker to a Western movie, with the traditional roles of the United States Cavalry and Native Americans taken by the British and the Zulu, respectively. Director Endfield showed a Western to Zulu extras to demonstrate the concept of film acting and how he wanted the warriors to conduct themselves.[5]
It has been rumoured that due to the apartheid laws in South Africa, none of the Zulu extras could be paid for his performance. Endfield was said to have circumvented this restriction by leaving them all the animals, primarily cattle, that were used in the film. These are highly valued in their society. This allegation is incorrect; no such law existed and all the Zulu extras were paid in full. The main body of extras were paid the equivalent of nine shillings per day each, additional extras eight shillings, and the female dancers slightly less.[12][11]
Real Zulu Prince who played the Zulu king in Zulu, the movie.
Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (/ˌmæŋɡoʊˈsuːtuː ˈɡætʃə ˌbʊtəˈleɪzi/;[3] 27 August 1928 – 9 September 2023) was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu, the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu (a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu).
Buthelezi was chief minister of the KwaZulu bantustan during apartheid and founded the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975, leading it until 2019, and became its president emeritus soon after that. He was a political leader during Nelson Mandela's incarceration (1964–1990) and continued to be so in the post-apartheid era, when he was appointed by Mandela as Minister of Home Affairs, serving from 1994 to 2004.[4]
From Zulu (1964) movie--wiki--
The film stars Stanley Baker and introduces Michael Caine in his first major role, with a supporting cast that includes Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Nigel Green, Paul Daneman, Glynn Edwards, Ivor Emmanuel, and Patrick Magee. Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi (a future South African political leader) played Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, his great-grandfather. The opening and closing narration is spoken by Richard Burton.
First shown on the 85th anniversary of the battle, 22 January 1964, at the Plaza Theatre in the West End of London, Zulu received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its sets, soundtrack, cinematography, action sequences, and the cast's performances, particularly Baker, Booth, Green, and Caine. The film brought Caine international fame. In 2017, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it as the 93rd best British film ever.[6]
Special post--I remember this distinctly--read in Burma, 1970s. Toynbee said in Life Magazine that the Vietnam War could not be won bc it was a national war.
He said the same to Playboy Magazine.
https://www.originalmagazines.com/blogs/vintage-magazines/a-historian-against-empire-arnold-toynbee-s-warning-on-america-vietnam-and-the-future-of-civilization
quote:
Between the pinups and bachelor pad features in the April 1967 issue of Playboy Magazine, American readers found something unexpected: a prophecy.
Arnold J. Toynbee—the British historian whose 12-volume A Study of History had made him one of the most famous intellectuals alive—sat for a lengthy, unsparing interview. His message was blunt: the United States was repeating the fatal mistakes of Rome. The Vietnam War would fail. Nuclear weapons threatened human extinction. And America's moral authority was collapsing under the weight of its own power.
For readers living through the spring of 1967, these were not abstract warnings. Draft notices arrived daily. Protests erupted on campuses. Body counts scrolled across evening news broadcasts. Toynbee's interview landed like a stone through glass—shattering the illusion that American might was unassailable. More than half a century later, this issue remains one of Playboy's most significant cultural documents. It captured the moment when empire met its mirror.
Lindsey Graham --R--S.C says it's not the US's job to choose the next leader of Iran. Khamaneini was 86.
Scroll down in the same link below.
Sen. Mark Kelly criticizes Trump--
At the same time, Kelly criticized Trump’s post to Truth Social referencing his hopes for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police to “peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/iran-attack-strikes-us-israel-trump-khamenei-dead-live-updates-rcna261172?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
“Hope is not a strategy,” Kelly said, criticizing Trump's Truth Social post in which he said he hoped members of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police would "peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots."
“We got to have a plan here," Kelly said. "I mean, what is the strategic goal, and how do we achieve it?”
Asked whether the U.S. could continue the operation without putting troops on the ground, Kelly said “that is incredibly challenging.”
Kelly argued that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, but criticized Trump for having withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Reuters--images--demonstrations world-wide for and against US--Israel strike on Iran.
https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-crisis-live-explosions-tehran-israel-announces-strike-2026-02-28/
Trump says Khameini is dead, Iran says he's commanding the field.
Rice and cheese balls--
https://www.thekitchn.com/arancini-recipe-23771652?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Cuban-born writer/poet Pena--killed in "invasion attempt" off Cuban coast--yes, it's as I thought,
a copy cat of Bay of Pigs--BUT--it's not clear if Trump sanctioned or helped it.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2026/02/27/clearwater-writer-among-those-killed-gunfire-off-cuban-coast/
BBC--breaking--live coverage--US and Israeli forces strike Teheran, which retaliates--
Air space already shut down, 53+63 at Iranian elementary school already dead.
Some distraction from Epstein Files engineered by Trump. Expect more price increases in USA etc--
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us#player
I think Trump mightcall off or try to call off midterms on basis of emergency he created himself.
"Regime change" might take place in other places than Iran.
This is difft from 9/11 and George W. Bush who labeled himself the War President.
***
Friday, February 27, 2026
Subscribe to AP (banned from WH early 2025), The Guardian,BBC, NPR, broadcasters on Substack, friends on LinkedIn--
Legacy Media--not so much.
Make a list of who caved to DJT--avoid.
Hillary calls House Oversight questioning repetitive--+ Burma--
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/26/nx-s1-5727777/hillary-clinton-deposition-house-oversight-epstein?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
That's what people on the attack do, when they have no firm facts.
Case in point "Dr." Bo Lay at my viva voce for my Ecos.M.A. at Rangoon Univ. His favorite student or follower herself said his Ph.D. was from a correspondence course.
At the examination, I said, "You just asked this Q and I just answered it.
Dr. Aye Hlaing dismissed the session and as I walked out the 15' corridor lined with bookshelves--I heard Dr Aye Hlaing (Dept Chair), Dr.Findlay and Yebaw Chan Aye shouting at U Bo Lay.
U Bo Lay later became head of govt Co-op ministry where all the co-op farm animals died. At the govt Pearl Island,the Japanese experts did not show the Burmese staff how they inserted the round beads--all the oysters died and were eaten. My brother's friend Gloria H.S. now in USA told him.
U Tha Hto and I sat on an oral exam for a Diploma in Eco.Planning student.
After about 5 mins, U Tha Hto said, "why this is just a record of all the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs and cows dying."
We passed the student. They were all working at Burmese govt. ministries or economic entitiies like banks etc.
One student described a certain Air Force man who had taken home antiques.
I still wonder today why U Tha Hto chose me as co-examinar though I wasn't from Mandalay.
Ne Win the dictator pulled the Mandalay staff back to Rangoon--so --there was Mandalay, also Moulmein, and Rangoon staff literally under one roof.
U Bo Lay and his wife got to stay in the confiscated house of Dr Suvi on Inya Road. Dr. suvi was a surgeon expelled from Burma by NW as "foreign."
His wife and he got in the newspapers bc his wife's longyis (sarongs) were stolen and he went and found them at the black market and roughed up the vendor, who I think was just the fence.
His wife invited my mother and other society ladies like Mrs. San Lin to her house for tea. She was quite a good-looking woman but obviously scared of her husband.
He had a pugnacious bulldog face and personality.
He later left the Co-op Ministry and is said to have made a living by telling fortunes.
Dr. Suvi operated in my mother's tumor and had one of the first orchid houses.
After Cyclone Nargisn, there was a Myanmar Gov. Report on the number of for eg. chickens killed, 7326 (a made up #)) but no statistics for humans killed. The day after the Cyclone, Myanmar govt-owned news outlets said only 5 women were killed as they were rowing a sampan in the Rangoon River. My neices stopped eating fish for awhile bc the found a human finger inside a fish they were cleaning for Mohinga--a popular fish soup eaten as breakfast.
K.M.Kaung
2-17-2026.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
American among those killed in Cuban waters, WH confirms--First reported by Axios.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-among-those-killed-speedboat-cuban-waters-white-house-confirms/
Marco Rubio looks down--
Was it another Bay of Pigs attempt??
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
We are all Burmese, Ukrainians, Somali, Iranian now--
We bleed, we die and we suffer all the same.
Tibetans, Rohingya, Persians, we all lose our native country.
kmk
2-25-2026
From Al Jazeera--Mexico descends into violence after cartel leader killed--Copied and pasted.
Schools have been shut in several Mexican states, and local and foreign governments alike warned their citizens to stay indoors, as widespread violence erupted following the army’s killing of the powerful leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2026/2/23/mexico-erupts-in-violence-after-army-kills-jalisco-cartel-boss-el-mencho?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho”, was killed in a shootout in his home state of Jalisco on Sunday as the Mexican military attempted to capture him.
“El Mencho” was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and for staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it.
Cartel members responded with violence across the country, blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles.
The killing of “El Mencho” comes 10 years after his rival, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was captured in a joint US-Mexico operation. El Chapo was later extradited to the US.
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm, and authorities announced late on Sunday that they had cleared most of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states. The White House confirmed that the US had provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’s army for taking down a man who was among the most wanted criminals in both countries.
The US Department of State had offered a reward of up to $15m for information leading to the arrest of “El Mencho”. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organisations in Mexico, which began operating
In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel a “Foreign Terrorist Organization”.
Sheinbaum has criticised the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders, only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern, and, since US President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under intense pressure to show results against drug trafficking.
The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive in its attacks on the military, including on helicopters, and specialises in launching explosives from drones and planting mines.
In 2020, it carried out a dramatic assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force, now the federal security secretary.
Mexico fears more violence after army kills Jalisco cartel leader
AP--photo essay Portraits of Ukrainians before and after full scale Russian invasion.
https://apnews.com/photo-essay/ukraine-photo-essay-portraits-anniversary-war-d7bb463924e7cad9cfaa45e59600fc60?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Get your handkerchief, your wallet, your credit card and your checkbook/s, your brain or your brawn ready to help in any way you can.
NPR fact check of T's "state of the union."
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5716277/trump-state-union-fact-check?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Trump Fence around US Capital.
March, 2025 an artist won a major painting prize for similar image from Trump 1.0.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Top US General has been warning Trump about attacking Iran--
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has been advising President Trump and top officials that a military campaign against Iran could carry significant risks, in particular the possibility of becoming entangled in a prolonged conflict, according to two sources with knowledge of those internal discussions.
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/iran-strike-trump-gen-dan-caine-vance-rubio?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
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