Wednesday, January 31, 2024
NUG +Resistance Groups issue joint statement--
However, the statement continues, “The stewardship of the nation in the post-revolutionary era shall be entrusted to all relevant parties in the cause of the revolution; it is under their collective leadership that we will forge a new nation.” The groups also state that they reject any initiatives to monopolize political power exclusively among the privileged.
“The armed forces shall hold no right to participate in any future political discourse,” the statement reads.
If the leadership of the Myanmar military unconditionally accepts the six political objectives, negotiations could be held to terminate military rule and facilitate a peaceful transition of power, the groups added.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-nug-three-revolutionary-groups-issue-joint-position-statement.html
Yesterday I attended a Christian memorial service in Yangon via Zoom-
it looked peaceful--
but one cannot say.
Myanmar--pendulum seems swinging the other way.
Thai court acquits Myan arms dealer, junta troops massing, ASEAN supports Thai plan to supply junta--etc
Thai Court Acquits Myanmar Arms Dealer of Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/junta-crony/thai-court-acquits-myanmar-arms-dealer-of-drug-trafficking-money-laundering.html
Arakan Army Fighting to Seize Rakhine Coast Town
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/arakan-army-fighting-to-seize-rakhine-coast-town.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-troops-massing-on-border-of-first-myanmar-township-restored-to-civilian-rule.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmars-crisis-the-world/asean-supports-thai-plan-to-supply-myanmar-junta-with-humanitarian-aid.html
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Ta-Nehisi Coates--from 2016
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ta-nehisi-coates-signs-uta-881372/
I am now re-reading his memoir--The Beautiful Struggle of his growing up in Baltimore and his Black Panther father.
km
1-30-2024
Burma--now comes the back and forth--excerpts from Irrawaddy--links
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/kia-seizes-lucrative-gold-opium-production-area-from-myanmar-junta.html
A combined force of the KIA, All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and People’s Defense Force attacked the town on Jan. 18. They announced that they had taken control of the town on Jan. 25 after defeating junta positions including the police station. They retreated the same evening, however, and junta troops returned to torch houses in the town, said residents who had fled.
RelatedPosts
Five Myanmar Junta Officers Killed in Helicopter Crash
January 30, 2024
34
KIA Seizes Lucrative Gold, Opium Production Area From Myanmar Junta
January 30, 2024
324
Myanmar Junta Hiding Cyber Scam Bosses: Brotherhood Alliance
January 29, 2024
1.7k
“Junta troops are now in the town and burning houses. They have arrested residents who stayed behind. They also arrested about five residents who returned to check their houses on Sunday. Those who went back to feed animals have also been arrested,” said one resident.
Regime troops are seeking to sow division in the town by forcing Muslim detainees to burn houses in Momeik, according to a volunteer helping displaced people.
“An escapee reported that junta soldiers told detainees to burn houses. They told Muslims to set fire to houses with torches, threatening to kill them if they refused. They took photographs. I believe the regime will use the photos to spread propaganda and stir religious hatred by claiming Muslims are torching houses and religious buildings,” the volunteer said.
Junta troops blockaded the town and killed some eight residents, including Muslims, said a town resident helping displaced people. Many residents had fled before the fighting. Those who stayed found themselves trapped and were either killed or arrested---"
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/momeik-incinerated-as-myanmar-junta-reoccupies-shan-town.html
end post
1-30-2024
Former Generation 88 U KoKoGyi, Another downed chopper,Cyber scam bosses being sheltered by junta
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/former-myanmar-88-gen-leader-opens-peoples-party-office-in-yangon.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/in-karen-state-another-myanmar-junta-chopper-shot-down.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-hiding-cyber-scam-bosses-brotherhood-alliance.html
Monday, January 29, 2024
One liner found poem--from Divorce Lawyers
Celebrity Marriages Last Just 7.4 Years on Average.
1-29-2024
best analysis so far R J Aung (pseu) +Tony Waters--2 more towns fell to Resistance--
https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/preventing-a-cycle-of-war-in-myanmars-post-junta-power-vacuum.html
Incld Mawchi mines--tin and tungsten.
1-29-2024
Saturday, January 27, 2024
KIA has captured another town strategic Muse-Lashio Road. Pa-O leave 15 yr peace accords +sinking feeling
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-battalion-controlling-myanmar-china-trade-route-surrenders-to-kia.html
North of the Shwe Pipeline will soon become part of China.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ethnic-pa-o-group-exits-myanmar-peace-talks-formally-joins-war-against-dictatorship.html
"https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta-watch/junta-watch-sinking-feeling-as-myanmar-navy-faces-onslaught-in-rakhine-and-more.html" rel="nofollow">
https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta-watch/junta-watch-sinking-feeling-as-myanmar-navy-faces-onslaught-in-rakhine-and-more.html
1-27-2024
Friday, January 26, 2024
Chick pea flour dessert recipes--"pe hmont" a. k. a. besan or garbanzo flour
https://www.yummly.com/recipes/chickpea-flour-desserts
Substitute sugarsubstitute(asparatame)for real sugar
bananas, punpkin,avocado for butter or coconut oil
vegetable oil for lard or ghee or coconut oil.
general formula is 1 tsp baking powder for 1 cup besan flour.
eat healthy, live long.
Kyi May Kaung
1-16-2024
90 days humiliation for Myanmar junta, Chinese ambassador, Rakhine--SEZ ,Resistance Mogok etc
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/conflicts-in-numbers/operation-1027-delivered-three-months-of-humiliation-to-myanmars-junta.html
pl scroll down Irra.site on yr own,
1-26-2024
Warning graphic--1st nitrogen gas exceution--eye witness acct.
https://www.aol.com/alabama-executes-kenneth-eugene-smith-023519076.html
Maybe useful for prison series.
I had a chemical stress test about years ago--and it felt like I was dying.
Will never agree to it again.
km
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Sorry--having trouble with this post--
Arakan Army takes over key town--Rakhine State, junta supreme court puts ASSK house up for auction
--
despite air, land and sea nearly 3 month bombardment.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-supreme-court-orders-sale-of-daw-aung-san-suu-kyis-home.html
See Irrawaddy site for all.
Brotherhood Alliance says junta violating Chinese brokered "cease fire
Don'tknow what China and Myanmar-agreed to in secret-- China probably arm-twisted Alliance, wh it is probably funding. This does not look good. China recently added to its investment in Rakhine.
Chin Shwe Haw and Wa state already under Wa and Alliance--so that's why maybe China brokered ceasefire. It does not look that good for the people of Burma, the Alliance nor the NUG. Wa will probably make out OK. Historically since the 18th century it has exploited its border location. Online gaming is a lucrative source of income for Chinese billionaires and millionaires. See my previous post on capital outflow from China (and India) kmk 1-25-2024
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Burma--BangkokPost--misc.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/myanmar-military-aircraft-skids-off-runway-in-mizoram-4915488
Myanmar denies-Google search results:) https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=AP+myanmardenies#ip=1
<a href="https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2729924" rel="nofollow">https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2729924 https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2729332 end
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Myanmar--rapidly downhill--in Irrawaddy Magazine-image--French Revolution--women's march on Versailles.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/defeated-myanmar-junta-generals-given-death-sentences.html
+ Xi's purges
+ junta soldiers flee into China
+ senior monk who was stabbed, died.
1-24-2024
The Milinda Panha--The Questions of the Greek King Menandar
The Milindapañha (lit. 'Questions of Milinda') is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: Milinda) of Bactria, in Sāgalā, present-day Sialkot.[1] The Milindapañhā is regarded as canonical in Burmese Buddhism, included as part of the book of Khuddaka Nikāya.[2] An abridged version is included as part of Chinese Mahāyāna translations of the canon. The Milindapañha is not regarded as canonical by Thai or Sri Lankan Buddhism, however, despite the surviving Theravāda text being in Sinhalese script.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milinda_Panha Bactria was set up by Alexander the Great.
Monday, January 22, 2024
Journal entry--1-22-2024--On Ultra Nationalists and Religious Fundamentalists
Ultimately, closed-minded, complacent people
sittinng on their butts
praying meditating,
in their windowless
comfort zone
rooms.
I'm going to drop
2 or 3
from my
email list.
Kyi May Kaung
1-22-2024
Monasteries of St Francis and St Clare in Assisi
San Francesco, Franciscan monastery and church in Assisi, Italy, begun after the canonization in 1228 of St. Francis of Assisi and completed in 1253. The crypt was added in 1818, when the tomb of St. Francis was opened.
San Francesco | Gothic architecture, Basilica, Umbria
Britannica
https://www.britannica.com › ... › Painting › Painters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacro_Convento
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Chiara
Sorry the Tosca has no English subtitles--look for the movie version with Placido Domingo--better
and shows actual locations--
1-22-2024
Myanmar prisons, 1027 wrap,India-Isreal etc --Fw: Carceral systems Southasia (a special series), and the need for a caste census prison poetry—
https://www.himalmag.com/myanmar-prison-junta-coup-political-prisoner-insein/
Myanmar prisons, 1027 wrap,India-Isreal etc --Fw: Carceral systems Southasia (a special series), and the need for a caste census
prison poetry—
worth checking out. We all live next to our neighbors.
India and Bangladesh are talking border fences, Thailand humanitarian aid.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/analysis/will-the-myanmar-junta-boss-step-down-all-sides-now-want-him-gone.html
Junta boss unlikely to "step down." He's more likely to relocate to Russia or Belarus.
Others are "retired" already in Singapore, Kuwait, Shanghai.
Did you ever wonder how much their pagodas cost?? The marble donated by Million Gold?
Famous writer Ludu Daw Amar said "Dictators never exit alive.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
So far most of my dream/nightmares have not been as
bad as the waking reality
though some of it really happened
such as the deaths
of myfather
or my 7 day old niece
unamed as far as I know.
Worse has happened to others.
As you well know.
Especially inside Burma.
Copyright Kyi May Kaung.
Please do not post anywhere without express permission from me.
Death Railway River Kwai
Check out Myanmar Now also on a regular basis--Thai diplomat talks humanitarian aid forBurma at Davos.
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/thai-diplomat-announces-thailand-myanmar-humanitarian-initiative-on-border/
1-21-2024
Refugees on Thai Border--photo from Irrawaddy Magazine.
Friday, January 19, 2024
Seleucus--one of successors of Alexander the Great.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucus_I_Nicator
Mostly bad news from Burma--
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/nationalist-monk-briefly-detained-after-joining-chant-calling-for-myanmars-dictator-to-step-down.html
2nd biggest jailer of journalists--from CPJ
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-named-second-biggest-jailer-of-journalists.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-guards-will-be-held-accountable-for-sexual-abuse-of-women-political-prisoners.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/bangladesh-moves-to-boost-security-on-myanmar-border.html
end
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Himal Southasia--prison systems --
https://www.himalmag.com/myanmar-prison-junta-coup-political-prisoner-insein/
I met a former political prisoner from Iran too--a woman, a Christian who told me female prisoners were raped in notorious Evan Prison "so they would no longer be virgins and go to Heaven."
Kyi May Kaung.
1-17-2024
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Irrawaddy: Myanmar endorses one China, 2nd junta plane brought down, forced recruitment--Tiger Batallion--etc
https://www.irrawaddy.com/
1-16-2024
Arctic Blast--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ZYITLGoTA
Don't go out if you live in N America and Canada in cold areas.
I'm busy with fiction and other book projects--health issues--will not be on line much. Not in order--Kamadeva on parrot,
Buddhist sites, glacier source of Ganges, Plague of Justinian--
mythical birth of Ganga--
Electricity--UWSA etc from Irrawaddy 1-15-2024
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-leader-shifts-focus-to-power-in-yangon-as-resistance-gains-more-ground.html
This article rather snide and confusing bc referring to electric power and political power as "power."
copy and paste follows:
The junta has bowed to the United Wa State Army’s demand for administrative control of Hopang and Panlong towns in northern Shan State, according to WSTV, an ethnic Wa television station.
The transfer of the two towns to Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic army expands Wa Self-Administered Division east of the Salween River.
RelatedPosts
Myanmar Junta Leader Shifts Focus to Power in Yangon as Resistance Gains More Ground
Myanmar Junta Leader Shifts Focus to Power in Yangon as Resistance Gains More Ground
January 15, 2024
2.1k
Myanmar’s Journalists Can Help Build a Federal Democracy: SHAN Editor-in-Chief
Myanmar’s Journalists Can Help Build a Federal Democracy: SHAN Editor-in-Chief
January 15, 2024
611
Arakan Army Declares Victory in Paletwa, Myanmar’s Chin State
Arakan Army Declares Victory in Paletwa, Myanmar’s Chin State
January 15, 2024
1.9k
WSTV reported that the two towns that had been under the junta’s control were handed over to the Wa State People’s Government on Jan. 4.
Wa Self-Administered Division, the only entirely autonomous area in Myanmar, is run by the Wa State People’s Government, which operates schools, hospitals, courts, and law enforcement in what ethnic Wa people call Wa State.
A UWSA delegation led by the administer of Wa State’s Mongmao district and two officials from the state’s government visited Hopang and Panlong on Wednesday and Thursday last week to officially take over both towns, WSTV reported.
The two towns were seized by the Brotherhood Alliance on Jan. 5 following the surrender of over 700 junta troops. The alliance – comprising the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army – subsequently gave the two towns to the United Wa State Army. Nyi Nap, chairman of the junta-appointed administrative body of Wa Self-Administered Division, handed over control of the two towns to the UWSA’s administrator for Mongmao District in a ceremony last Wednesday. The administrator of Mongmao district is appointed by the UWSA as the administrator for all of Wa Self-Administered Division.
One week after the Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State on Oct. 27, the USWA said it would remain neutral despite its ties to alliance members. Still, it expanded its territory and gained two towns without firing a single bullet. The ethnic Wa in Myanmar have never been controlled by national-level authorities. In the early 1970s, the Communist Party of Burma took over the mountainous area now known as Wa Self-Administered Division. In 1989, the rank-and-file of the communist army, which included thousands of Wa troops, mutinied against their leaders. Subsequently, they signed a ceasefire agreement with the then-military regime, which designated the Wa homeland as Shan State Special Region 2. The UWSA was granted autonomy over the area.
Hopang and Panlong are part of the region, but were administered nationally. Special Region 2 was renamed Wa Self-Administered Division in the 2008 military-drafted Constitution, but Hopang remained under the control of central authorities. After 34 years, the UWSA finally has Hopang back under its control. The junta did not do what it usually does when it loses territory – bomb the people who live on it. It did not shell or carry out a single airstrike on the two towns when the Brotherhood Alliance seized them and transferred them to the UWSA. The consequence of attacking the towns would have been too dire, one military analyst said. “The military did not drop bombs or attack after the Wa took the towns. The military only carried out strikes in Laukkai and other areas. It dares not open a new front, considering the strength of the UWSA. If the UWSA fights [against the junta], the military will be in trouble across eastern Shan State.” Wa State comprises three districts – Mongmao, Monglin and Mongpauk – and Pangkham Special Township. In total, the area covers about 1,500 square kilometers. The UWSA refers to as northern Wa State. During the 1990s, the UWSA expanded its territory to include Monghsat District on the border with Thailand in southern Shan State, with the agreement of the then junta, and around 80,000 to 100,000 ethnic Wa people resettled there. The district is referred to as southern Wa State by the UWSA. The UWSA has demanded official statehood. The regime has agreed in principle to grant statehood to the UWSA. end km
Sunday, January 14, 2024
myanmar--ultra-nationalist monks say they are ready to fight.
These are Buddhists???????????????
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/ultranationalist-monks-declare-readiness-to-take-up-arms-in-support-of-myanmar-junta/
m a h must be pretty hard up for recruits.
1-14-2024
Saturday, January 13, 2024
myanmar already broke Chinese-brokered "cease fire"--aftermath of ONE bombing etc
My interview of poet Tin Moe and my translations of his poetry.
https://www.burmalibrary.org/docs15/U_Tin_Moe-poems.pdf?__cf_chl_tk=TDZNfCz9.06mAV6897kREHZ.mAHoLaD1rlW4pmnyA1U-1705136028-0-gaNycGzNC2U
It is my firm belief that he recieved the Prince Claus Award due to my translations.
1-13-2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
Over 400 defeated myanmar junta soldiers fled into India
Gen Pande expressed concern about border security and said the Indian military is closely monitoring developments, the Times of India reported.
He said the Indian authorities are considering strengthening border fencing. India has called for a ceasefire along the border. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/over-400-defeated-myanmar-junta-soldiers-flee-to-india.html
Burma/Myanmar--
The insurgents in the north continue to consolidate the capture of strategic towns, cities and border trade routes. Analysts say the next target is Lashio, the largest city in northern Shan State, and the main foothold of junta control in the region.
In addition to a lack of sympathy and support from the public, the military faces serious recruitment problems, internal resentment, desertions and low morale.
Like an old truck with a flat tire barreling out of control down a steep hill, the writing is clearly on the wall for the military—or, as its own citizens now mockingly refer to it, the “White Flag Tatmadaw”.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/commentary/myanmars-white-flag-military-in-chaos-in-northern-shan-state.html
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-chief-of-eastern-command-purged-after-karenni-defeats.html
the downed pilot is lucky--
the mass defeated incld 6 generals were sent back to junta, now detained, likely to face court martial.
km
1-12-2024
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Daw Mar Mar Aye—Burmese classical and popular singer
Passed away on Thursday in Fort Wayne, IN.
I last saw her in 2008 at a Burma Studies Conference in DeKalb, IL.
https://www.niu.edu/burma/conferences/2008.shtml
She was a great lady--
had sung for many VIPs in the1960s and 1970s.
I first met her in 1998 when she came to Radio Free Asia.
I turned a corner and there she was--in a grey faux fur coat.
She recognized me too as she said she had worked at BBS Burma Broadcasting Service with my cousin, writer Min Shin.
I wanted her to create an opera sung in Burmese, but she thought I meant light opera.
I took her to lunch at the Indian restaurant at once.
We sat down and then we started to call each other Ma Ma (Elder Sister) politely.
It turned out she did not know her exact age, she was the child of itinerant troopers, traveling since she was 4 or 5--and made her big break with ThetTant paw hmar kasar me. "We'll play on the rainbow."
I had an inkling the junta-inclining SOB would offer her a "job" she could not accept, and he did.
$200 per week for an essay--who can live on that?
Having seen a lot of society people, she was an astute observer--
she said of someone K.Y.--"That woman is too slick."
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Mar+Mat+Ayeyoutube#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e763e5bc,vid:koVxGtqykSo,st:0
She was always immaculately groomed, loved frilly blouses.
She had a natural affectionate manner--calling a dissident's pregnant wife--"Ma Bike" "Miss Belly."
This one was to honor the monks in the 2007 Saffron Revolution--who walked in the rain chanting the Metta Sutra. "The monks' red blood has fallen to the ground."
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Mar+Mat+Ayeyoutube#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6d83d792,vid:Keb2fodZk4Q,st:0
One interviewer asked her during the so-called transition period if she would return to Burma--She replied graciously
"I thought I'd be here a while so I made appropriate plans. How can I get up and return just like that?"
Solzhenitsyn used to say “When my books are freely available inside Russia."
During 1988, she said she was leaving to attend a demonstration and her then-husband said,
"If you go out that door, don’t ever come back."
She left. I've heard of another singer whose in-laws would not let her sing--Phyuu Thee--"So Fair". Rest in Art and Beauty, Lady, Lady, Kyi May Kaung 1-9-2024
Tuesday, January 09, 2024
From now on please check Irrawaddy and Myanmar Now daily for Burma news--
as you know, itchanges fast.
kmk
I'm busy.
From USA Today--US East coast sinking at faster rate than previously thought.
https://www.aol.com/impacts-real-satellite-images-show-101731574.html
New satellite images show the eastern U.S. coast is sinking at a faster rate than what was first reported last year, according to a new study published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Back in September, a team of scientists out of Southern California found that the New York City metro area is sinking at an average of 0.06 inches annually, USA TODAY previously reported. That number is now 0.08 inches in some areas, according to the new study published on Jan. 2.
"The problem is not just that the land is sinking. The problem is that the hotspots of sinking land intersect directly with population and infrastructure hubs," according to a statement from lead author Leonard Ohenhen, a graduate student working with associate professor Manoochehr Shirzaei at Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation Lab.
Ohenhen, Shirzaei and colleagues from the Earth Observation and Innovation Lab at Virginia Tech measured "vertical land motion rates" obtained from space-based radar satellites "to evaluate the subsidence-hazard exposure to population, assets, and infrastructure systems/facilities" along the East Coast, according to the study.
The maps of the terrain are the first of their kind.
The new research is "extremely valuable," Patrick Barnard, a research geologist with the U.S .Geological Survey and a co-author of the study, said in a statement.
"This information is needed," he said. "No one else is providing it."
end excerpt
Monday, January 08, 2024
Sunday, January 07, 2024
Golden Globes fashions--best when men and women don't show too much
https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/red-carpet-looks-2024-golden-235100748.html
I thought the pregnant woman the most beautiful.
Thant Myint U--Hidden History of Burma--copied and pasted from Amazon--I find him unreadable--
From the United States
SH
1.0 out of 5 stars Lies, damn lies.
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
For a casual reader, the book seems to be great. But as someone intimately familiar with the events, I am well aware that it is totally irresponsible of Thant Myint-U to gloss over several individuals who played pivotal roles and give credits to individuals (not to mention himself) who are close to him and who played marginal roles. As well, his anti-Suu Kyi rants are downright smears. He seems to hold a grudge against Suu Kyi for not giving him any role in the government. The reality is that Suu Kyi met with TMU many times. Every time, he came across as insincere and hopelessly Westernized. Therefore, Suu Kyi, working for the interest of the country, decided not to choose him. This book is the result.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
TLC3 Publishing
1.0 out of 5 stars Wasted my time
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2020
Said nothing about how fake media who don’t follow the five core values of journalism are ruining our society.
One person found this helpful
Customer Review
SB
3.0 out of 5 stars Neither "hidden" nor a "history," more a long-form essay
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
The author is spot on in his thesis that race and capitalism are the two central yet overlooked factors in Burma's modern instability. He is one of the best commentators on today's Burma.
I would have given this book a better rating if it were more upfront in its title and description.
The book is neither detailed nor systematic enough to be considered a history; he skips around semi-linearly by topic, often based on his personal experience and interest. We get backgrounds into important players but simply not enough detail of their motivations, sequence of decision-making, and information available to them at pivotal moments. We only get insight into Aung San Suu Kyi's actual ideology in the epilogue. The entire NLD is actually a bit of a black box. It receives surprisingly little detail in his narrative. Additionally, this book's information is only partly "hidden." It is great that he interviews a range of Burmese civilians and that he had often been semi-involved in the events he's describing. But the civilians are not prominent enough and his involvement not intimate enough for this to be either a "people's history" or a fully "behind-the-curtains" retelling. No real bombshells or impressive sourcing that would make this actually "hidden."
The most riveting and insightful actual "history" in the book comes in the middle section when he describes the high-speed reforms of 2011-2012. This section is likely the strongest because the author was a close advisor to the central reformers of those days (Soe Thein and Aung Min). There are plenty of "histories" written in this fashion, focused around a central thesis/message and often revolving around a diplomat, journalist, or activist's personal proximity to the action. But that's not a rigorous history. It's a long-form essay/memoir. This is a great thematic book to add to your Burma library, but do not expect a history of modern Burma, even of the time period the author states in his introduction that he will cover. Use this basically for a good enough history of specifically 2008 to 2012, with rushed and nonlinear coverage of subsequent events until 2020. Do not use it as your introduction to Burma. First read something like Charney's history of modern burma or IISS's series of briefs on each Burmese region, because you need to understand the importance of the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) before you can dive into this book (Thant Myint-U explores them only slightly). Helpful Report Permalink Product Details The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century byThant Myint-U 4.5 out of 5 stars 4.5 out of 5 408 global ratings 5 star 65% 4 star 23% 3 star 9% 2 star 1% 1 star 3% See All Buying Options
Saturday, January 06, 2024
More from Irrawaddy--
Resistance troops said they found a wide range of uniforms and badges on those under his command. The badges and uniforms showed that the junta’s military had sent staff from its medical services, communications, and electrical and engineering units – as well as its fire department and weapons factories – to the frontline.
Moreover, the troops sent to the post were from all over Myanmar – the Northern, Southeastern, Western and Yangon commands – as well as the Defense Service Academy and Defense Service Technological Academy, resistance members said.
“It is very unusual that all these people were sent to a camp led by a lecturer who is not a combat veteran. In fact, this makes it more obvious how weakened the army is,” Captain Htet Myat told The Irrawaddy.
He said the junta troops were forcefully sent to the outpost because they were “necessary.”
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-military-in-chaos-swift-capture-of-strategic-outpost-shows.html" rel="nofollow">
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-moves-to-retake-major-shan-state-camp.html
1-6-2024
Special post--from Irrawaddy --partial copy and paste--major win for Resistance--you can be sure junta won't bomb Kokang
Major win for Resistance--Kokang--5000 incld 6 brig gens returned to NPT--Walnut not denying--junta won't bomb Kokang
Myanmar’s junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has met senior Chinese representatives after a rogue shell from the Kokang enclave in northern Shan State injured Chinese citizens in Yunnan Province on Wednesday.
The shell hit Nansan town, sparking “strong dissatisfaction” from Beijing, which said it would take measures to protect its citizens. Only Myanmar’s junta uses artillery.
RelatedPosts
Junta Watch: Dictator Rewards Myanmar Constitution Lackeys; Regime Media Demand Money for Humiliated Military; and More
January 6, 2024
670
Myanmar Regime Raises the White Flag in Kokang Zone on China Border in Shan State
January 5, 2024
11.6k
‘Myanmar Military in Chaos,’ Swift Capture of Strategic Outpost Shows
January 5, 2024
15.7k
Deputy foreign minister Sun Weidong, ambassador Chen Hai and regional special envoy Deng Xijun met Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Friday, according to the regime.
Deng has brokered peace talks between the junta and the Brotherhood Alliance, which is attacking the regime along the Chinese border and in Rakhine State, where China has invested heavily.kmk—talks were inconclusive
At Friday’s meeting, border stability and boosting cooperation were discussed, according to the junta.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) of the Brotherhood Alliance has taken complete control of Kokang along the Chinese border. Kokang’s capital Laukkai fell on Thursday with almost 2,400 junta soldiers, including six brigadier generals, along with 1,601 family members, surrendering to the rebel army.
The regional command center is now held by the MNDAA.
The junta has suffered several major defeats in northern Shan State since Operation 1027 was launched by the Brotherhood Alliance on October 27.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/senior-chinese-envoys-meet-myanmar-junta-boss-after-shell-mishap.html
Almost 2,400 regime troops, including six generals, have surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang region, northern Shan State, in the largest single defeat for the junta since the 2021 coup.
The MNDAA said on Friday that 2,389 regime soldiers, including six brigadier generals, and 1,601 family members surrendered on Thursday. Myanmar Regime Raises the White Flag in Kokang Zone on China Border in Shan State January 5, 2024 13k The chiefs of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone and Laukkai Military Command were among the six generals who surrendered. The MNDAA said the whole of Kokang is a “regime-free zone” and marks the beginning of the end of the dictatorship. Almost 4,000 troops and their families were reportedly sent back to the regime in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, and elsewhere in the state. Junta soldiers and family members who surrendered to the MNDAA waiting to leave Laukkai, the capital of Kokang. / CJ Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told the pro-regime Popular News Journal that the priorities were the safety of regime personnel and their families and relations with China. The regime is under pressure from China to restore stability along the border.
The Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the MNDAA, launched Operation 1027 across northern Shan State on October 27 last year and has seized over 300 junta bases, around 10 towns and vital trade routes and border gates with China. 1-6-2024
Friday, January 05, 2024
Myanmar Now in Burmese--signs army is collapsing.
https://myanmar-now.org/mm/news/47910/
stats.
High ranking officers who fell in battle
fled to India
whole battalions which surrendered.
k
1-6-2023
Thursday, January 04, 2024
Wednesday, January 03, 2024
Junta helicopter crashes near KIA HQ
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/junta-helicopter-crashes-near-kachin-independence-army-headquarters-after-coming-under-attack/
If you read Burmese
full articles are available--scroll down.
km
Tuesday, January 02, 2024
Monday, January 01, 2024
Dec 2023--From IshaanTharoor, Wapo and Morgan Michaels , IISS.
But the biggest conflagration could take place in Myanmar, where the ruling junta is reeling from an offensive launched by a coalition of rebel armed groups and seeing mounting desertion in its ranks.
The current trajectory, however, “does not point towards a near-term regime collapse on the battlefield, absent unforeseen developments,” noted Morgan Michaels, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Myanmar is instead headed towards a new phase of the conflict, marked by a weakened but still dangerous regime, more intense violence and greater uncertainty.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/22/global-crises-humanitarian-war-2034-year-sudan-palestine-myanmar-burkina-faso/
Despite gains, major obstacles remain for Myanmar’s opposition forces
The battlefield successes enjoyed by the MNDAA and the TNLA are largely attributable to two key elements. Firstly, both groups prepared well for the offensive, spending nearly three years recruiting, arming and planning under the cover of an informal ceasefire with the regime. While such strategic patience is borne out of experience, it was also possible because the MNDAA and the TNLA conscript their armies and sustain their activities through the lucrative conflict economies of Myanmar’s borderlands. In contrast, newer resistance outfits rely primarily on donations and volunteer fighters and have promised total victory within a short time frame. Groups like the NUG cannot easily exercise the same degree of patience as the MNDAA and TNLA because maintaining popular support and participation in the revolution requires constant demonstrations of progress.
Secondly, the MNDAA and the TNLA enjoy support from China in the form of access to weapons, ammunition, commercial uninhabited aerial vehicles and liaison offices in the country. None of the other groups in Myanmar that are actively fighting the regime can match the firepower possessed by the MNDAA or the TNLA, almost all of which is traceable to China.
Despite being a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, the AA faces serious supply issues because it fights on the other side of the country under a military blockade. Recent opposition gains in places like Rakhine and Kayah states have instead been won through the sacrifice of hundreds of fighters sent to wage frontal assaults in concentrated formations that are highly vulnerable to air and artillery attack. Even with their comparatively superior firepower, the MNDAA and the TNLA have also employed human-wave tactics, and it is likely that the alliance suffered more than 1,000 casualties during Operation 1027. These are difficult losses for any non-state armed group to sustain.
Moreover, the Brotherhood Alliance’s reliance on China makes it particularly susceptible to the influence of Beijing, which has begun to push for a de-escalation via a negotiated truce. Though fighting has continued, a deal could potentially include a regime handover of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone and other key areas of northern Shan State to the alliance. While they claim to be fighting to overthrow the regime, both history and the current pattern of fighting suggest that the Brotherhood Alliance groups are primarily focused on winning control of their own areas, a scenario that now appears likely. Even if the alliance intends to go further, it could require years of preparation to launch a fresh offensive on a scale comparable to Operation 1027. China has begun to restrict cross-border access as a way to pressure the Brotherhood Alliance into negotiating, and it will likely act to prevent a total regime collapse.
No matter the trajectory in northern Shan State, events there alone cannot decide the outcome of the wider war. In the immediate aftermath of the Brotherhood Alliance’s gains, opposition forces elsewhere appeared to assume that the regime had lost its will to fight and would soon collapse. But this assumption has so far proven false. Outside of northern Shan State, the regime has demonstrated a willingness to keep fighting at any cost. While opposition forces now enjoy the initiative and may continue to win incremental gains, the current trajectory does not point towards a near-term regime collapse on the battlefield, absent unforeseen developments. Myanmar is instead headed towards a new phase of the conflict, marked by a weakened but still dangerous regime, more intense violence and greater uncertainty.
https://myanmar.iiss.org/updates/2023-12
end post
Happy New Year, not fromTimes Square, New York.
Someone else's live feed--just thought it would be interesting.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Time+Square+live+TV#fpstate=ive&ip=1&vld=cid:46f01802,vid:4dKJH4mbOcg,st:0
km
1-1-2024
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-post-apocalyptic-books
-
The maker of this replica seems to have assumed, anomalously, that the corner towers were in the Banteay Srei style -- visually, as you can ... -
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Famous+Chinese+tenors#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:12005ab7,vid:_d4ap5I_tmk,st:0