Am I the only one who read that in Zecora's voice?

Looks like no foolery, trollmitter.
"Administration officials stressed that the new engagement with Myanmar was not about China. They said the Obama administration consulted with China about the move and said they expected China to be supportive. They argued that China in fact wants to see a stable Burma on its borders, so that it doesn't risk problems with refugees or other results of political instability.

Human rights groups welcomed Obama's announcement as an opportunity to compel further reforms."

Or the US could just stick it's head in the sand if you'd prefer...

Burma Shave.

Came here to be the first to say Burma Shave. Now I has a sad.

One of the best headlines I've seen in a while.

Nice Job, Subby!

Sanctions didn't hurt the junta or their elite at all... embargoed goods were simply smuggled in via third countries at elevated cost, a cost borne by the Burmese people.

I can understand why the junta generals, evil evil men to a one, have decided to ease out of rule. I'm sure their personal bank accounts are vast from decades of kleptocratic rule, and they can look forward to total immunity for their crimes (and continued political influence), as the country currently has a corrupt civilian government set up by the junta themselves. What they deserve, of course, is to hang from meat hooks in the streets of Rangoon. Not gonna happen. Instead, the political creatures of the old elite will enjoy improved legitimacy as the international community decides to accept them so Pepsi and Nike and GM can rush in and start making money.

dookdookdook: Am I the only one who read that in Zecora's voice?

[images.wikia.com image 390x360]

Not anymore, you aren't.

Ceiling Moran: Burma Myanmar Shave.

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Zero charge.

Went there last year for vacation. I must say, the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon is awe inspiring, as are the temples around Mandalay. The people are very friendly too, but they have this weird feeling about them as if they are always being watched (or watching you, depending on who it is). The infrastructure is also ass backwards.

CSB time:
On the same trip, my friend and I randomly came across a crowd of a few hundred people at a rather small temple in the middle of nowhere. Naturally, we got out to see what was going on. Turns out the country's preeminent buddhist nun faith-healer was about to start curing the sick. When they saw white people approach (a definite rarity anywhere in Myanmar, especially the outskirts), they thought we were a huge deal. They took us to the back room where we got to chat with the nun (through our driver acting as interpreter) for a while and do some prayers, and then they invited us to share lunch with them. After we had lunch, the ritual started, and my friend and I were given front row seats to watch the healing - this made us feel bad, because they pushed other people to the side so we could sit in front. We watched it for a while until my friend started feeling like they were taking advantage of all of the poor ill people.

All-in-all a pretty awesome time. Best part of the whole thing is that the faith healer had a sidekick monk in pink robes that, even while bald, was smoking hot.

I don't think subby is getting enough props for this headline.
Brilliant job!

dookdookdook: Am I the only one who read that in Zecora's voice?

[images.wikia.com image 390x360]

I read that in Wheelie's voice:


\hot

Great job subby! +1

Great leaps forward, correct me if I am wrong but I thought one of the contingencies of Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest was that she could not run for political office against the Junta...

Burma is at the top of my list, met a lot of people this summer who raved about it and had stories like Crandall where the people were wonderful. I was also informed it was fairly easy to make sure the people got the money and not the Junta

desertfool: One of the best headlines I've seen in a while.

Nice Job, Subby!

While it is good, we've been doing Burma Shave headlines for stories related to the region for about five years now.

dittybopper: Ceiling Moran: Burma Myanmar Shave.

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Zero charge.

It will always be Burma to me.

No Such Agency: I can understand why the junta generals, evil evil men to a one, have decided to ease out of rule. I'm sure their personal bank accounts are vast from decades of kleptocratic rule, and they can look forward to total immunity for their crimes (and continued political influence), as the country currently has a corrupt civilian government set up by the junta themselves.

Things take time. It's barely been a year since the junta stepped down, and the first general election were held.
The current government is alligned with the former military leaders, and that's hardly surprising, since the elections were boykottet by the major opposition party, The National League for Democracy . They didn't have confidence that the elections would be free and fair, and it seems they were right.

Also, Aung San Suu Kyi was still jailed duringt last years election, and as such banned from belonging to a political party. But she's running in the next elections, and I'd be very surprised if she doesn't win.

Crandall: Went there last year for vacation. I must say, the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon is awe inspiring, as are the temples around Mandalay. The people are very friendly too, but they have this weird feeling about them as if they are always being watched (or watching you, depending on who it is). The infrastructure is also ass backwards.

CSB time:
On the same trip, my friend and I randomly came across a crowd of a few hundred people at a rather small temple in the middle of nowhere. Naturally, we got out to see what was going on. Turns out the country's preeminent buddhist nun faith-healer was about to start curing the sick. When they saw white people approach (a definite rarity anywhere in Myanmar, especially the outskirts), they thought we were a huge deal. They took us to the back room where we got to chat with the nun (through our driver acting as interpreter) for a while and do some prayers, and then they invited us to share lunch with them. After we had lunch, the ritual started, and my friend and I were given front row seats to watch the healing - this made us feel bad, because they pushed other people to the side so we could sit in front. We watched it for a while until my friend started feeling like they were taking advantage of all of the poor ill people.

All-in-all a pretty awesome time. Best part of the whole thing is that the faith healer had a sidekick monk in pink robes that, even while bald, was smoking hot.

Quote Time!
The profession of shaman has many advantages. It offers high status with a safe livelihood free of work in the dreary, sweaty sense. In most societies it offers legal privileges and immunities not granted to other men. But it is hard to see how a man who has been given a mandate from on High to spread tidings of joy to all mankind can be seriously interested in taking up a collection to pay his salary; it causes one to suspect that the shaman is on the moral level of any other con man.
But it's lovely work if you can stomach it.

No Such Agency: Sanctions didn't hurt the junta or their elite at all... embargoed goods were simply smuggled in via third countries at elevated cost, a cost borne by the Burmese people.

I can understand why the junta generals, evil evil men to a one, have decided to ease out of rule. I'm sure their personal bank accounts are vast from decades of kleptocratic rule, and they can look forward to total immunity for their crimes (and continued political influence), as the country currently has a corrupt civilian government set up by the junta themselves. What they deserve, of course, is to hang from meat hooks in the streets of Rangoon. Not gonna happen. Instead, the political creatures of the old elite will enjoy improved legitimacy as the international community decides to accept them so Pepsi and Nike and GM can rush in and start making money.

You're right about the junta generals deciding to cash out, as it were. But I don't think Pepsi, Nike and GM are that crazy about rushing in. I think it's just another 3rd world nation deciding that it's about time to see if they can start getting foreign aid from the U.S., the UN, and anyone else that might chip in. The generals and the "civilian" government have gotten about all they can out of their own country, it's time to start skimming the aid from outside.

Mr. Right: I think it's just another 3rd world nation deciding that it's about time to see if they can start getting foreign aid from the U.S., the UN, and anyone else that might chip in

It couldn't possibly be about a people striving for freedom and self-determination.

About time the generals wised up. The nation will be a much more lucrative target for exploitation once international corporations move in and set up.

Dansker: Mr. Right: I think it's just another 3rd world nation deciding that it's about time to see if they can start getting foreign aid from the U.S., the UN, and anyone else that might chip in

It couldn't possibly be about a people striving for freedom and self-determination.

I wouldn't argue for a minute that the people of Myanmar don't desperately desire freedom and self-determination. But they are only going to get what the government decides to give them. It wasn't like the people overthrew the generals; the generals decided to share. That in no way means they aren't still in control.

USCLaw2010: It will always be Burma to me.

I notice the BBC still calls it Burma.

Incidentally, Patricia Arquette was kind of hot in Beyond Rangoon.

dookdookdook: Am I the only one who read that in Zecora's voice?

[images.wikia.com image 390x360]

First thing that was thought
To my mind that was brought

enemigo_de_pepe: Came here to be the first to say Burma Shave. Now I has a sad.

It also fits the tune of the Te Deum.

Bravo subby, best headline in a long while

Mr. Right: I wouldn't argue for a minute that the people of Myanmar don't desperately desire freedom and self-determination. But they are only going to get what the government decides to give them. It wasn't like the people overthrew the generals; the generals decided to share. That in no way means they aren't still in control.

New elections are coming up, and the strongest, most popular opposition figure is running for office as a free woman for the first time in more than twenty years. Changes take time, but they're moving in the right direction.
Of course, fair elections alone doesn't do it, and they need all the support they can get to establish democratic institutions, the Rule of Law etc. And yes, they also need economic aid. Because of the deep international distrust, the country barely receives any aid at all, and anything that can increase trust and easy restrictions and sanctions at this point will help.

The country is still in a terrible state, and has huge humantiarian problems. It will be better able to take care of itself and its population, if it enacts political and economic reforms, continues its development towards democracy, improves its foreign relations, and increases trade.
Their current efforts and steps in that direction should be applauded, not scoffed at.

"Obama stood watch as executives of Boeing and Lion Air, a private carrier in Indonesia, signed a deal that amounts to Boeing's largest commercial plane order. Lion Air ordered 230 airplanes, and the White House said it would support tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S."


if not for that....it would be golf in Hawaii.

And burma would be off the radar

USCLaw2010: dittybopper: Ceiling Moran: Burma Myanmar Shave.

Your post was wrong
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Your error large
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Zero charge.

It will always be Burma to me.

From wiki:

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many colonial-era names, including the name of the country to "Myanmar". This prompted one scholar to coin the term "Myanmarification" to refer to the top-down programme of political and cultural reform in the context of which the renaming was done. The renaming remains a contested issue....

Media usage is also mixed. In spite of the usage by the United States government, some American news outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune and CNN, and international news agencies the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse have adopted the official name "Myanmar". The name "Burma", however, continues to be used by other news outlets, including Voice of America, The Washington Post, the BBC, ITN, most British newspapers, The Times of India and Time. Other sources often use combined terms such as "Burma, also known as Myanmar" or "Myanmar, previously known as Burma". Some media outlets that use "Myanmar" refer to "Burma" as the nation's "colonial name."

netcentric:
And burma would be off the radar

Okay, I'll bite: What does a trade deal with Indonesia have to do with improving relations with Burma and sending the Secretary of State on an official visit, and why does it determine Burma's presence on the radar?

Maybe he's just hoping Clinton gets put under house arrest there for the next 20 years or so

Although they freed

Aung San Suu Kyi

They still repress

Most Brutally


Burma Slave

Burma's a warzone.

i shaved my Burma last week

I have no idea what's going on so I am just gonna be that guy that posts a song off an album with a relevant title:

Link (new window)

Crandall: Shwedagon Paya in Yangon is awe inspiring

Justly famous for Shwedi balls...

Dansker: Mr. Right: I wouldn't argue for a minute that the people of Myanmar don't desperately desire freedom and self-determination. But they are only going to get what the government decides to give them. It wasn't like the people overthrew the generals; the generals decided to share. That in no way means they aren't still in control.

New elections are coming up, and the strongest, most popular opposition figure is running for office as a free woman for the first time in more than twenty years. Changes take time, but they're moving in the right direction.
Of course, fair elections alone doesn't do it, and they need all the support they can get to establish democratic institutions, the Rule of Law etc. And yes, they also need economic aid. Because of the deep international distrust, the country barely receives any aid at all, and anything that can increase trust and easy restrictions and sanctions at this point will help.

The country is still in a terrible state, and has huge humantiarian problems. It will be better able to take care of itself and its population, if it enacts political and economic reforms, continues its development towards democracy, improves its foreign relations, and increases trade.
Their current efforts and steps in that direction should be applauded, not scoffed at.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not for a minute scoffing at the efforts of the people of Myanmar. I do not doubt the sincerity of Aung San Suu Kyi. Everything you said about their current plight is true - it is a country mired in misery on nearly every front and the entire free world should do whatever it can to facilitate their moves toward a freer, more democratic, and more prosperous society. But I think it's a bit Polly-annaish to believe that the generals and what amounts to a puppet government at this point are going to actually step back and allow a truly free society. That in no way means that I don't wish the people well and hope for as much success in their progression toward a truly free, self-determinant government. But one need only look at the former Soviet Union and what Putin is doing now to cast doubts. Putin may be much less blatant than in his old KGB days but is he any less ruthless? Any less in control? Would you be willing to make his enemies list? Dictators don't give up power, no matter what the rest of the world gets to see.

Ouch, looks like the Junta has been taken care of.
What do you mean she brought the wrong bullet.
/his name is Junta, you see.
//yes I know most people don't know what DNA² is.

Fireproof: While it is good, we've been doing Burma Shave headlines for stories related to the region for about five years now.

This. It was long hanging fruit.

On topic: I hope this isn't premature.

/subby