Burma, America, The World, Art, Literature, Political Economy through the eyes of a Permanent Exile. "We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. Sometimes we must interfere. . . There is so much injustice and suffering crying out for our attention . . . writers and poets, prisoners in so many lands governed by the left and by the right." Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Speech, 1986, Oslo. This entire site copyright Kyi May Kaung unless indicated otherwise.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Aung San Suu Kyi's Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/aungsansuukyihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
208 new species found in SE Asia
http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/208-New-Species-Discovered-in-Southeast-Asia-135596428.html
As early as 2000, a National Geographic scientist/contributor, photographer told me that the most new species were being found in Vietnam, just before they became extinct.
Kyi May Kaung
As early as 2000, a National Geographic scientist/contributor, photographer told me that the most new species were being found in Vietnam, just before they became extinct.
Kyi May Kaung
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Burma- Moving art installation by Human Right Watch -at NY's Grand Central Station - 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yioRh6IOABE&feature=relatedhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The sound is a Buddhist monk reciting the traditional "sending of metta" or loving kindness prayer and the audience responding Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu or Thadu -- "well done"
kmk
The sound is a Buddhist monk reciting the traditional "sending of metta" or loving kindness prayer and the audience responding Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu or Thadu -- "well done"
kmk
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
US Department of State - Where in the world is Mrs. Clinton?
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/2011http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif/12/177900.htm
See interactive map - useful to teach world geography.
kmk
See interactive map - useful to teach world geography.
kmk
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Carnation Lily Lily Rose by John Singer Sargeant
http://www.artden.com/products/carnation-lily-lily-rose?gclid=CLS8z9LO_6wCFSVjTAodbjzTSg
One of my father's favorite paintings.
Kyi May Kaung
One of my father's favorite paintings.
Kyi May Kaung
Kyi May Kaung interviewed on Asia-Pacific Forum about "change in Burma"
Michelle Chen of Asia Pacific Forum interviewed me about change in Burma, is it real. Dec 13th, 2011
http://www.asiapacificforum.org/show-detail.php?show_id=250
October 2011 Kyaw Aung Lwin of VOA interviewed me about poetry reading in front of Burmese embassy DC – 10,000 poets for change.
http://www.asiapacificforum.org/show-detail.php?show_id=250
October 2011 Kyaw Aung Lwin of VOA interviewed me about poetry reading in front of Burmese embassy DC – 10,000 poets for change.
Karen National Union's Mahn Nyein Maung arrested in Yunnan in July and deported to Burma, where he is now on trial -
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22641
This is a very famous man and great writer whose book I partially translated.
kmk
This is a very famous man and great writer whose book I partially translated.
kmk
Friday, December 09, 2011
Burma's junta: Can a tiger change its stripes by Kyi May Kaung
http://epoch-archive.com/a1/en/sg/nnn/2011/11%20November%202011/%20Issue%20385_01_November_2011/385_A7.pdf
Originally in Foreign Policy in Focus.
Here in Epoch Times, I am re-posting as the photograph is so evocative.
Kyi May Kaung.
Originally in Foreign Policy in Focus.
Here in Epoch Times, I am re-posting as the photograph is so evocative.
Kyi May Kaung.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
re-posting - Deusche Welle interview of Dr. Zarni, LSE, Burma political prisoners as bargaining chips
http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,5250650_type_audio_struct_12758_contentId_5250683,00.html
The junta's politics as war.
Note:
To the gutless person, sure it's a man, who keeps writing "hack, again!" whenever I re-post something -
I deleted all your comments.
The correct usage is "Heck. No!"
From "What the heck"
I am not a hack writer, I re-post for a reason, and if you don't even have the guts to post your real name, at least get your usage, grammar and spelling correct. "Go to hack" which is probably where you are already.
Kyi May Kaung
The junta's politics as war.
Note:
To the gutless person, sure it's a man, who keeps writing "hack, again!" whenever I re-post something -
I deleted all your comments.
The correct usage is "Heck. No!"
From "What the heck"
I am not a hack writer, I re-post for a reason, and if you don't even have the guts to post your real name, at least get your usage, grammar and spelling correct. "Go to hack" which is probably where you are already.
Kyi May Kaung
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Photograph of Japanese journalist shot to death on streets in Rangoon, Burma during Saffron Revolution wins Pulitzer Prize
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ0P8XuWJg8
The report is in Burmese but the images are in international sign language.
Kyi May Kaung
The report is in Burmese but the images are in international sign language.
Kyi May Kaung
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Movie The Lady - LA Times interview of actress Michelle Yeoh -
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/11/the-lady-michelle-yeoh-luc-besson.html
she looks very like Daw Suu but the Burmese voices are all wrong, and "the speech" is incomprehensible to a Burmese speaker -
Besson should have used real Burmese for the voices, even the crowd scenes.
At least Beyond Rangoon had Burmese actors.
kmk
she looks very like Daw Suu but the Burmese voices are all wrong, and "the speech" is incomprehensible to a Burmese speaker -
Besson should have used real Burmese for the voices, even the crowd scenes.
At least Beyond Rangoon had Burmese actors.
kmk
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Kyi May Kaung's comment on actress Emma Thompson's trip to Burma -
during which she claimed to see "change in Burma".
Left on website - 10-29-2011
"I admire Emma Thompson tremendously as an actor and activist etc.
But in this case she is MISTAKEN -
she has fallen into the trap of speaking for a non-profit which needs to be on the right side of the junta to continue in-country operations.
The so-called change is only a media whitewash so the junta can get western sanctions lifted.
Ms. Thompson needs to look at things deeper than one "fact-finding" trip sponsored by one non-profit organisation.
Kyi May Kaung (Ph.D.)"
Left on website - 10-29-2011
"I admire Emma Thompson tremendously as an actor and activist etc.
But in this case she is MISTAKEN -
she has fallen into the trap of speaking for a non-profit which needs to be on the right side of the junta to continue in-country operations.
The so-called change is only a media whitewash so the junta can get western sanctions lifted.
Ms. Thompson needs to look at things deeper than one "fact-finding" trip sponsored by one non-profit organisation.
Kyi May Kaung (Ph.D.)"
Friday, October 28, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
How much difference does one poem make? by Kyi May Kaung in PeacexPeace
Dupont Circle Metro - Washington DC with lines by poet Walt Whitman - who went alone during American Civil War to comfort wounded and dying soldiers.
Photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
http://www.peacexpeace.org/2011/10/how-much-difference-does-one-poem-make/
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Prize winning documentary on Khmer Rouge - Brother Number 2
Dried banana leaves - photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
http://enemiesofthepeoplemovie.com/
Chilling documentary which complements work by Nate Thayer, Ben Kiernan etc.
-- to be used in International Criminal Court.
-- he never educated his own children, who deeply resented it.
* This was sent to me by Jane Khin Zaw, daughter of U Khin Zaw or "K" - who is now a Carmelite nun. She is related to the co-director of the film.
Contact #s for interview on film website.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Sarah Browning's article on Poetry Walk of Shame and Kyi May Kaung's poem, War on Roaches in Foreign Policy in Focus.
Walt Whitman's poetry carved in stone at Dupont Circle metro. Photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
http://www.fpif.org/articles/poets_stand_up
http://www.fpif.org/articles/war_on_roaches
Friday, October 07, 2011
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Monday, October 03, 2011
Weakness in traditional area studies approach and Burma Studies by Kyi May Kaung
I think the elephant must be a flower - two fake topiary men look at a decorated elephant - photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
from Burma Studies Conference, 2008,
paper abstract.
WEAKNESS IN THE TRADITIONAL AREA STUDIES APPROACH AND BURMA.
KYI MAY KAUNG
Burma Studies has been traditionally organized as a subject discipline as Area Studies. In this approach what happens within the national boundaries of a country (only) is implicitly treated as relevant to the study of the problems of that country. At least two decades to four decades of Burma Studies has shown that these parameters are too limited. It has resulted in scholars not talking or collaborating with each other as much as they should, and not paying enough attention to systemic and regional matters, not to mention the international setting in which Burma needs to operate and Burma studies needs to operate.
For instance academic articles and journalistic ones are event driven and have time only to speak about the most micro-economic of matters, whereas it is macro economics that we need to understand. The historians, some of whom hark back to an ultra-nationalistic model, have also failed us, as they are unable to handle the problems of the moment and apparently see nothing wrong with the SPDC's paradigm. Most of the Burma scholarship is focused on subject matter which is limited to Burma only without enough cross-system, cross-national, intra and inter-regional and international analysis. That this approach has failed is widely evident from how the junta has taken advantage of the misguided approach of Friends of Burma and the international community to "depoliticize" Burma strategy during Cyclone Nargis. As a result the aid has disappeared into the junta's pockets, Ban ki-Moon's visit did not succeed, nor did that of Mr. Gambari during the Saffron Revolution last year, nor have any of the UN Rapporteurs since 1988. At the same time Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest, NLD leadership and members and other dissidents have been under arrest or under severe oppression, and the junta is continuing with "business as usual" - in fact even has windfall profits from natural gas etc.
My 1994 dissertation and my article in Asian Survey that summarized this, mentioned that we need to look at systems which were then similar to Burma's such as the then Soviet Union and the PRC and economic and hopefully political reforms there. We also need to look at China and India now and their preferred position as economically strong neighbors of Burma, and China and India; the United States and the western world and China and India as strongly emerging powers in this world as we knew it. The dissident community is now highly conscious of this, but the academic is not.
I would like to propose that the Burma academic community reach out to other approaches, including the dissident community, and the artistic and writerly ones, which are now at the forefront. This would result in much more cogent advice, and much less waste of economic and human resources in the international responses to ongoing and recurrent major crises in Burma. That the crises will continue and also continue to escalate is beyond doubt.
<< back
From Bangkok Post - Winds of Change or Smokescreen -
Crusty old tree - Photo copyright Kyi May Kaung.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/259250/winds-of-change-or-just-a-smokescreen
As a poet I give you the answer,
it's a slight breeze, maybe getting a bit stronger, blowing the smoke around.
After all, smoke is not static.
Blog note Copyright Kyi May Kaung.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Painted poem, or poetic painting? My friends held this up for me in front of Burmese embassy
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Today - Burmese poet Kyi May Kaung reads in front of Burmese embassy - 100,000 Poets for Change
Setting Sun - digitally enhanced photograph, Copyright Kyi May Kaung
Biggest poetry reading tomorrow - also in front of Burmese embassy
Friday, September 23, 2011 1:50 PM
From:
"Kyi May Kaung"
To:
"kyi may kaung"
Cc:
"kyi may kaung"
I will be reading in front of Burmese Embassy, including "Eskimo Paradise" which features Aung San Suu Kyi in the poem. This poem was in the Norton anthology.
100 Thousand Poets for Change DC: Poetry Walk of Shame
Saturday, September 24, 2011
11 am
Meet at the Embassy of Yemen
2319 Wyoming Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Walking distance to Woodley Park & Dupont Circle Metro Stations on the Red Line
For more info: 202-787-5210, info@splitthisrock.org
Even while poets in 450 cities in 95 countries are organizing the largest poetry reading in history September 24, poets in too many countries around the world will be silent, out of fear for their safety.
Join Split This Rock and Foreign Policy in Focus, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies, as we give voice to some of those poets for one day.
We’ll take a short walk to the embassies of three countries -- Yemen, Burma, and Turkmenistan -- where citizens’ rights of free speech have been suppressed, where poets, writers, and other freedom lovers have been threatened, arrested, and murdered for their words and their activism. And we'll stand with the poets and writers of those few places where a few hints of openings are lighting the darkness.
As we stand in witness outside the embassies, we’ll read poems by poets from those nations so that they, too, may participate in 100 Thousand Poets for Change.
Gather at 11 am at the Yemeni Embassy, 2319 Wyoming Avenue, NW. It’s walking distance from the red line Metro, halfway between the Woodley Park and Dupont Circle stops.
100 Thousand Poets for Change is the brainchild of Bay Area poet and publisher Michael Rothenberg. Events planned for September 24 range from poetry and peace gatherings in strife-torn Kabul and Jalalabad to 20 collective poetic actions in Mexico City where poets, painters, filmmakers and musicians will spread the word of peace and non-violence throughout the city with day long readings and workshops.
There are over 270 events in the United States, 29 in India, 7 in Nigeria, 17 in Canada, 19 in Great Britain, 5 in China, with more being added each day.
All those involved are hoping, through their actions and events, to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability.
100 Thousand Poets for Change
www.100TPC.org
walterblue@bigbridge.org
**
Sarah Browning
Director
Split This Rock
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
a hundred thousand poets for change - Kyi May Kaung & other poets will read in front of Yemen Embassy, Burmese Embassy etc with DC Poets Against War -
Burmese democracy leader sees her son, whom she had not seen for a very long time, at Rangoon Airport, Burma.
Photo from Internet - Suu Kyi and the other over 2000 political prisoners and their families and the people of Burma have been denied freedom of expression, and often, freedom of association.
http://blogthisrock.blogspot.com/2011/09/100-thousand-poets-for-change-dc-poetry.html
Sept 24, 2011
11 AM meet in front of Yemen Embassy, 2319 Wyoming Av, NW DC
close to Woodley Park and Dupont Circle metros
--
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
New Ph.D. thesis about Burmese authoritarianism and resistence - from GWU
Only other dissertation besides mine which attempts theory building on a macro-scale and addresses authoritarianism in Burma.
Kyi May Kaung
--- On Sat, 9/17/11,
From:
Subject: "Challenge and Survival: Political Resistance in Authoritarian Burma": A freshly archived PhD thesis
To:
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2011, 5:31 AM
Author: Linnea M. Beatty,
Title: "Challenge and Survival: Political Resistance in Authoritarian Burma"
Place: George Washington University
Date: August 31, 2011
Supervisor: Professor Henry Hale
Link: http://gradworks.umi.com/3466745.pdf
Dissertation Abstract:
"Burma‘s dictatorial government maintains its power by coupling
political repression and social control methods to cultivate a
compliant citizenry. Yet non-violent and violent opposition to
military rule continues. Armed resistance groups began fighting for
independence and autonomy from the state prior to Burma‘s
independence. Large-scale protests occurred in every decade since
military takeover in 1962, the most recent were the monks’ protests in
September 2007.
How do oppositions maintain their ability to challenge an
authoritarian state over long periods? Authoritarian conditions
necessitate that opposition movements resist by utilizing two
imperatives: challenging the regime and ensuring their own survival.
Resistance in Burma encompasses the offensive position of the
challenge imperative and the defensive position of the survival
imperative.
Challenge activities confront the authority of the governing regime;
the authoritarian government and its entities are the primary
audience, although it is beneficial if other segments of society
witness the action. Oppositional activities do more than just
challenge the state. Oppositions conduct activities that also ensure
their survival in the face of repression. Political activities serve
to signal in-group solidarity, transfer information to other facets of
the political movement and encourage long-term participation. For an
opposition to survive repression, member retention is critical and
activist family networks help individuals overcome regime-constraints
to participation.
The challenge and survival imperatives demonstrate that protest does
not erupt ‘from out of nowhere.’ Over-relying on protest as a proxy
measure of the existence of opposition overlooks the wide range of
resistance options available to discontented citizens, especially
those living under authoritarian rule. Using a protest events dataset
and interviews with activists, soldiers and citizens of Burma, this
dissertation examines the range of political resistance used in Burma
to challenge the dictatorial regime."
Kyi May Kaung
--- On Sat, 9/17/11,
From:
Subject: "Challenge and Survival: Political Resistance in Authoritarian Burma": A freshly archived PhD thesis
To:
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2011, 5:31 AM
Author: Linnea M. Beatty,
Title: "Challenge and Survival: Political Resistance in Authoritarian Burma"
Place: George Washington University
Date: August 31, 2011
Supervisor: Professor Henry Hale
Link: http://gradworks.umi.com/3466745.pdf
Dissertation Abstract:
"Burma‘s dictatorial government maintains its power by coupling
political repression and social control methods to cultivate a
compliant citizenry. Yet non-violent and violent opposition to
military rule continues. Armed resistance groups began fighting for
independence and autonomy from the state prior to Burma‘s
independence. Large-scale protests occurred in every decade since
military takeover in 1962, the most recent were the monks’ protests in
September 2007.
How do oppositions maintain their ability to challenge an
authoritarian state over long periods? Authoritarian conditions
necessitate that opposition movements resist by utilizing two
imperatives: challenging the regime and ensuring their own survival.
Resistance in Burma encompasses the offensive position of the
challenge imperative and the defensive position of the survival
imperative.
Challenge activities confront the authority of the governing regime;
the authoritarian government and its entities are the primary
audience, although it is beneficial if other segments of society
witness the action. Oppositional activities do more than just
challenge the state. Oppositions conduct activities that also ensure
their survival in the face of repression. Political activities serve
to signal in-group solidarity, transfer information to other facets of
the political movement and encourage long-term participation. For an
opposition to survive repression, member retention is critical and
activist family networks help individuals overcome regime-constraints
to participation.
The challenge and survival imperatives demonstrate that protest does
not erupt ‘from out of nowhere.’ Over-relying on protest as a proxy
measure of the existence of opposition overlooks the wide range of
resistance options available to discontented citizens, especially
those living under authoritarian rule. Using a protest events dataset
and interviews with activists, soldiers and citizens of Burma, this
dissertation examines the range of political resistance used in Burma
to challenge the dictatorial regime."
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Quote of the day - Dictators in Gold Braids - from Pablo Neruda
The delicate dictator is talking
with top hats, gold braid, and collars.
Pablo Neruda - who spent some time in Rangoon, Burma before World War II
Now the Burmese dictators are in civilian clothes.
with top hats, gold braid, and collars.
Pablo Neruda - who spent some time in Rangoon, Burma before World War II
Now the Burmese dictators are in civilian clothes.
David Bowie's hit song Change - sound track for so-called change in Burmese capital Naypyitaw or King's Royal City -
quite brilliant, esp the stuttering :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl3vxEudif8http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Google map of Naypyitaw -
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Naypyidaw.htm
NPT on wiki-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naypyidaw
More photos of NPT while under construction
http://www.sequential-one.com/blog/?p=895&cpage=2#comment-141437
kg
--- On Thu, 9/15/11, wrote:
From:
Subject: To wet your appetite (if at all!) - from my next essay - Change, change, change, changes...
To:
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 10:01 AM
For the Burma and Burmese sceptics, David Bowie’s “Changes”
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/davihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd bowie/changes.html
both the
lyrics and the music, may be more meaningful to ponder and pleasant to
our ears than the Brahminic verses about the supposedly fast-paced
changes in Naypyidaw .
Here is my favourite stanza:
“I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through”
The Wiki entry says, Bowies’ 40-year-old lyrics may be read as “a
manifesto for his chameleonic personality, sexual ambiguity, and
frequent reinventions of his musical style throughout the 1970s”.
The current Brahminic discourse of Naypyidaw’s changes with their
dizzying paces is neither as sexy nor as ambiguous.
Beneath the mirage of changes, the chameleonic seniors and juniors in
generals’ uniform are simply reinventing their grip on society,
economy and politics.
Notes by Zarni.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl3vxEudif8http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Google map of Naypyitaw -
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Naypyidaw.htm
NPT on wiki-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naypyidaw
More photos of NPT while under construction
http://www.sequential-one.com/blog/?p=895&cpage=2#comment-141437
kg
--- On Thu, 9/15/11, wrote:
From:
Subject: To wet your appetite (if at all!) - from my next essay - Change, change, change, changes...
To:
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 10:01 AM
For the Burma and Burmese sceptics, David Bowie’s “Changes”
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/davihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd bowie/changes.html
both the
lyrics and the music, may be more meaningful to ponder and pleasant to
our ears than the Brahminic verses about the supposedly fast-paced
changes in Naypyidaw .
Here is my favourite stanza:
“I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through”
The Wiki entry says, Bowies’ 40-year-old lyrics may be read as “a
manifesto for his chameleonic personality, sexual ambiguity, and
frequent reinventions of his musical style throughout the 1970s”.
The current Brahminic discourse of Naypyidaw’s changes with their
dizzying paces is neither as sexy nor as ambiguous.
Beneath the mirage of changes, the chameleonic seniors and juniors in
generals’ uniform are simply reinventing their grip on society,
economy and politics.
Notes by Zarni.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Found poem - a traffick report concerning "Burma Road"

Poetry anthology Fire in the Soul which featured Tin Moe's poem Desert Years, translated by Kyi May Kaung.
Americus Times-Recorder, Americus, Georgia
September 13, 2011
Injuries result from head-on collision
Associated Press
AMERICUS — An afternoon collision on Burma Road Thursday resulted injuries to one driver, according to Georgia State Patrol Post 10.
According to the accident report, Cheyenne D. Cromer, 17, of Ellaville was
driving a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier in the south bound lane of Burma Road crossed into the opposite lane, failing to negotiate a curve. The Chevrolet struck a 1977 GMC C3500 pick-up driven by Eddie W. Rogers, 48, of Andersonville. After the impact both vehicles rotated off of the road way, each striking opposite embankments. The 17 year old driver of the Chevrolet was transported by Air -Evac to Macon Medical Center for treatment for non-incapacitating injuries. She was cited for driving on the wrong side of the road. Rogers was not transported, according to the report.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
Kyi May Kaung's poem - War Against Roaches, published in Counterpunch -
Photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/09/jared-carter-and-kyi-may-kaung/
In Burma, Four Cuts Campaigns have been carried out against the ethnic groups by the central government as a declared policy since at least the mid-70s.
regards,
kmk
:) Kaung is not a valid Scrabble word - poem

Memory Rolls - artwork and photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
:) My name is not a valid Scrabble word
http://www.wordnik.com/words/Kaung
It’s a valid Burmese word.
kaung = good
Copyright Kyi May Kaung
9-9-2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Friday, September 02, 2011
Thursday, September 01, 2011
new -supposed self portrait of van Gogh -
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/08/is-this-portrait-a-long-lost-vincent-van-gogh-painting.html
It is a portrait of van Gogh, but not a self portrait,
The "hand" or touch is completely different as are the use of colors, which more resembles Renoir's soft touch.
It's a pastel and van Gogh hardly ever did pastels.
I think it's a portrait by Donnadieu (spelling?) as the signature on the back says it is.
Kyi May Kaung.
It is a portrait of van Gogh, but not a self portrait,
The "hand" or touch is completely different as are the use of colors, which more resembles Renoir's soft touch.
It's a pastel and van Gogh hardly ever did pastels.
I think it's a portrait by Donnadieu (spelling?) as the signature on the back says it is.
Kyi May Kaung.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
In the Garden of Beasts - by Erik Larsen -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HFRJM6/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb#reader_B004HFRJM6
US Ambassador and his daughter in Berlin as Hitler rose to power.
A must read.
US Ambassador and his daughter in Berlin as Hitler rose to power.
A must read.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Burma & Echoes of Eritrea - reposting - Kyi May Kaung's profile of artist Elsa Gebreyesus -
http://www.wildriverreview.com/2/2-profiles_gebreyesus.html
Burmese President Thein Sein has again invited Burmese exiles to return home.
Few takers so far.
Burmese President Thein Sein has again invited Burmese exiles to return home.
Few takers so far.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Libya - from Telegraph
Saturday, August 27, 2011
"Dean of Burma Studies" Professor Josef Silverstein's bibliography
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/J.Silverstein-bibliography.htm
Dr. Silverstein has been my Pol. Sci. mentor since 1984 & came to my oral exam for my Ph.D. as external examiner.
Dr. Silverstein has been my Pol. Sci. mentor since 1984 & came to my oral exam for my Ph.D. as external examiner.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Libya - $1.5 b in unfrozen moneys will start to flow soon -
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/25/libya.war/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Let's hope the USA does not "kill it with money".
Let's hope the USA does not "kill it with money".
Bones Crow - upcoming bilingual edition of Burmese dissident poetry -
Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, pays her respect to her assassinated father, and Burma's founding father, Aung San, on July 19th, Martyrs' Day. This was the first time the junta allowed her to participate in the official ceremony.
Bones Crow is edited by James Bryne and edited/translated by Ko Ko Thett.
http://www.sampsoniaway.org/literary-voices/2011/08/22/bones-will-crow-an-anthology-of-burmese-poetry/
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Dr. Kyi May Kaung's comments on 10 papers on Economics, presented at Naypyitaw, Burma - much vaunted "economic reforms".
Aung San Suu Kyi and her son Kim Aris reunited after many years. Photo, screen grab from Internet.
Is Suu Kyi being used big time?
It looks to me from a cursory skim through that the papers are advocating
- more ties with ASEAN, AEC
- better/more taxation
- industrialization
- dealing with corruption
-how to deal with international financial crisis through IMF/about IMF (U Myint)
However, all this is under pretense that it is "a government elected by the people" - one of the papers (in Burmese) explicitly states this blatant untruth upfront as if it were true.
None of papers deal with structural/systemic issues -
so nothing can be done about nepotism for instance when surely Thein Sein's and Than Shwe's relatives and others among junta cliques, are all involved, just like Gaddafi sons, "who were given country to loot"
so ultimately it is all "Show Business" as we Burmese say, and an exercise in futility.
No wonder Daw Suu looks serious and not so happy.
There is also concern that Daw Suu is separated from her usual phalanx of (unarmed) "bodyguards" and NLD supporters/loyalists.
KMK
I am sending my comment to others.
--- On Wed, 8/24/11, wrote:
From:
Subject: Fwd: 10 papers of Nay Pyi Taw Workshop (U Myint, Dr Zaw Oo, Minister U Soe Thein, Daw Mya Thuzar, U Thein Zaw, U San Thein)
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Current reading--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forever_War_(Filkins_book)
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https://www.ecoticias.com/en/traffic-lights-fourth-color/10086/
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