Yangon Thu

everything you do, I can do better...

Maung Aye, Than Shwe and Thura Shwe Mann - have a girlfight.

So, apparently, the generals in Burma are having a falling out. I wish they would all just fall out - out of the picture of ruling Burma, that is. I know for a fact that Than Shwe has intestinal cancer so I guess Karma is working hard right now on him. Apparently, the top 3 - the lovely Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Thura Shwe Mann cannot get long with each other and cannot decide how to move forward in ruining Burma even more:

"It's a stalemate," said a Western diplomat based in the former capital Yangon. "The three generals don't trust each other and are closely watching each other. It's like a giant chess game, and as a result nothing is happening."

I mean, of course there is going to be a power struggle everytime the government needs to shake things up and "fire" people for corruption - so that they look good to the outsiders who are pushing for change in the country.

In anticipation of those reforms (drawing up a new constitution), a massive shakeup of the army and government is planned for the coming months to pave the way for constitutionally mandated civilian rule.

And - get this - Than Shwe had such agrip on Maung Aye that - he asked him to retire with him together! Kinda like back in the days when the wife used to have to kill herself when her husband died, don't you think? Hahaha.

Maung Aye "fears he will be completely sidelined if he accepts retirement", said a relative of the general. "He still wants to be No 1."

Than Shwe's protege, General Thura Shwe Man, was tipped to take command of the armed forces, while Than Shwe and Maung Aye retained their top posts of chairman and deputy of the junta's ruling council, which is expected to change its name to the State Democracy and Development Council (SDDC) to mark the start of a new political era.

And Than Shwe, however sick he is, refuses to give up control of all his powers, apparently and wants ot be a puppet master:
"Even if Than Shwe officially retires, he will not give up his power. Instead, he'll remain the gray eminence behind the throne, along the lines of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the years before his death."

Oh my god, what next - more rumors like when Ne Win was in power - like him drinking virgins' blood to survive and be in control of the country. Why are men so crazy about power????? You can read the full article after the jump or just go to here direct to the source.

The generals fall out in Myanmar
By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - Myanmar's top generals are in the throes of a full-blown power struggle as they grapple with how best to introduce significant political reforms, including a planned move toward some form of democracy, and hand political power to a new generation of military commanders.

Senior General Than Shwe, head of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), is of failing health and in recent months has become increasing reclusive amid growing

international pressure for political change - including the United States' recent failed attempt to impose sanctions against the regime through the United Nations Security Council.

Against that backdrop, the SPDC's top three generals - Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Thura Shwe Mann - reportedly cannot agree on how to move forward, according to Western diplomats who spoke with Asia Times Online.

"It's a stalemate," said a Western diplomat based in the former capital Yangon. "The three generals don't trust each other and are closely watching each other. It's like a giant chess game, and as a result nothing is happening."

Big changes were in the cards. Top military rulers recently met in the new capital Naypyidaw - some 400 kilometers north of Yangon - for their quarterly meeting, where Than Shwe's plans to prepare the government and military for constitutional reform were discussed. The top general significantly was not present for the meeting, and the SPDC's second in command, Maung Aye, reportedly refused to accept some of the proposed changes, according to people familiar with the meeting.

Myanmar's National Convention, which is drawing up a new constitution, finished its latest session in December and Western diplomats in Yangon believe that in the next few months the charter will be formally drafted and by year's end put to a national referendum. In anticipation of those reforms, a massive shakeup of the army and government is planned for the coming months to pave the way for constitutionally mandated civilian rule.

The changes, if fully implemented, will be the most dramatic since the military seized power more than 18 years ago and have been designed to ensure that the draft constitution is democratically approved during a national referendum. Significantly, they will also pave the way for general democratic elections, which are expected to be held some time in 2008.

The ruling junta annulled the results of the 1990 general election, which was won overwhelming by the National League for Democracy, and it remains unclear whether the opposition party will be permitted to compete in next year's planned polls.

As part of the reform plan, Than Shwe is reportedly planning to give up his command of the army, but retain the key post of chairman of the SPDC. However, Maung Aye, perhaps sensing Than Shwe's declining health and tenuous grip on power, is now refusing to retire along with the senior general - as was earlier planned. His refusal promises to complicate the political transition and heighten intra-military rivalries in the months ahead.

Maung Aye "fears he will be completely sidelined if he accepts retirement", said a relative of the general. "He still wants to be No 1."

Than Shwe's protege, General Thura Shwe Man, was tipped to take command of the armed forces, while Than Shwe and Maung Aye retained their top posts of chairman and deputy of the junta's ruling council, which is expected to change its name to the State Democracy and Development Council (SDDC) to mark the start of a new political era.

Once established, the SDDC will be charged with overseeing both the military command and the civilian government, which unlike the current administration will have split authority structures. Over the past two years, Than Shwe has frequently told Thailand's top army commanders that he planned to retire soon and that Thura Shwe Mann would take over his position as the country's top military leader. Prime Minister Soe Win, meanwhile, has already shed his army khakis for a civilian business suit and his ex-military cabinet ministers have officially left the armed forces.

Last legs
Now Than Shwe's deteriorating health promises to alter, or potentially even scupper, those grand plans as new competitive divides open inside the SPDC. The changes have been in the planning pipeline for at least a year, according to senior Myanmar military sources. But the recent massive move of all the government's offices and the armed forces' central command to Naypyidaw - started more than a year ago and completed last February - have delayed the full transition from SPDC to SDDC rule.

Than Shwe suffered a mild stroke nearly two years ago, but since

has fully recovered. He also suffers from hypertension and is a diabetic, which causes him frequent violent seizures when his sugar levels get out of control, according to an army doctor familiar with the situation. According to one foreign visitor who met with him recently, Than Shwe is often short of breath.

Than Shwe has become far more reclusive since the government finished its move from Yangon to Naypyidaw last February. For almost the past year, Than Shwe has not gone to the War Office and has only attended crucial meetings, such as the fortnightly joint SPDC cabinet session, according to an Asian diplomat who until recently was based in Yangon. The senior general also nowadays receives few outside visitors, other than Thura Shwe Mann, through whom he sends directives to Maung Aye and Soe Win.

Last month, the 75-year-old senior general traveled to Singapore for an urgent medical checkup after suffering from chest pains. What was to be a day or two in hospital attenuated to a week-long stay and stoked wild speculation and rumors about his health. Singaporean doctors discovered that Than Shwe is suffering from cancer of the pancreas, according to reliable medical sources in Yangon. "Than Shwe may only have three to 18 months left to live," predicted one Myanmar army doctor.

Many inside Myanmar thought the senior general was already on his last legs when he left for Singapore, and several ranking majors and colonels began jockeying for position in expectation that Maung Aye, rather than Thura Shwe Mann, would soon take the military's top spot.

Since his return to Myanmar, Than Shwe has moved to allay speculation about his health, and he took the unprecedented step of allowing local television cameras to film the opening of the SPDC's quarterly meeting - the first time ever that the traditionally highly secretive meetings have been allowed pubic exposure. His hale image has also been splashed almost daily across the front page of the government-mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

"This is to ensure that as few people as possible are aware of his failing health," said Chiang Mai-based independent Myanmar analyst Win Min. "Even if Than Shwe officially retires, he will not give up his power. Instead, he'll remain the gray eminence behind the throne, along the lines of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the years before his death."

According to Chinese diplomats, Than Shwe intends to stand down but become the civilian president under the new constitution. "He wants to be president for life," a senior military source close to him said.

However, Maung Aye's refusal to retire has suddenly put a wrench in those works and raises hard new questions about his commitment to Than Shwe's reform plan. Thura Shwe Mann has already been handed effective control over running the country's day-to-day affairs, although he still reportedly consults Than Shwe on major policy issues. At the same time, government ministers have recently started to complain about the political inertia and their inability to make even basic decisions.

From the outset, Than Shwe was aware of the potential dangers involved with backing a transition from pure military to some form of democratic rule. And unless he is somehow convinced that his personal power and his family's fortunes are not at risk through its implementation, the current political stalemate could last at least as long as the senior general's declining health holds out.

Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the BBC. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.

save the cheerleader and save the world!!!

This is my "irony" collage because nothing in the collage will protect you like a parent but will spoil you like a child. Well, except, maybe for the blueberry - but that is a blueberry floating in a glass of vodka, if you must know.

For the love of all that was holy, I could not sleep last night. I mean, I tried and I tried and I tried. Then I gave up and I watched about 7 episodes of Heroes. (Thanks Rinko!!!!) My new favorite show. It got me all excited about watching TV, like LOST used to do.
My fave character has got to be Hiro Nakamura - played by Masi Oka. He has that sweet innocence and naivete. Really like the character of Claire - the Cheerleader. Feel awful for the character Nikki and really wish the Petrelli brothers were my boyfriends (LOL).

And then morning came and I thought, oh, it's such a beautiful day, why sleep? So I went about making like a thousand collages in my diary. OK, I lie, I only made about 16 collages and my diary is small - only about A5 size I think. Can I just tell you that I love magazines like Real Simple, Living, etc and other magazines on how you can live better? I mean, they always have colorful graphics on how to decorate your room, how to save space, what gifts to give, and so on and so on.... (all ideas that I want to follow, but never really do, ha ha) I love them because I think I am often moved by photography that does not involve human emotions. Don't get me wrong, I love that kind too, but I don't know - sometimes when I make collages, I don't want one person to dominate it. I like to let things, ideas, possibilities be expressed.

I also need to buy new glue stick because I used up all of my UHU glue and I had to start using some crappy glue, which was making me mad coz it wouldn't stick properly. Why did someone make a glue that can't stick properly???? It shouldn't be called glue then should it? geez!

I am extremely tired now... running on just about 3 hours of sleep (at about 1 PM, I just kinda passed out and woke up at 4 PM- just in time for my appointment). Am going to bed and will be dreaming of becoming part of the cast of Heroes. What special ability should I want? Have always wanted to be a mutant because I've always felt like an outsider and I thought, well, if I'm gonna be an outsider all my life, might as well have special powers to go with it.

Oh and after the jump, a funny poem that I saw on the blog PinkCoyote

Enjoy!

Once upon a time
in a land far away,
a beautiful, independent,
self-assured princess
happened upon a frog as she sat
contemplating ecological issues
on the shores of an unpolluted pond
in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said:
" Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince,
until an evil witch cast a spell upon me.
One kiss from you, however,
and I will turn back
into the dapper, young prince that I am
and then, my sweet, we can marry
and set up housekeeping in your castle
with my mother,
where you can prepare my meals,
clean my clothes, bear my children,
and forever feel
grateful and happy doing so."

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously
on lightly sauteed frog legs
seasoned in a white wine
and onion cream sauce,
she chuckled and thought to herself
I don't fuckin think so.

Myanmar activist files defamation suit against 30 publications

Source

YANGON, Myanmar: A pro-democracy activist has filed a defamation suit against more than 120 editors and publishers of local journals who published personal attacks against her, including linking her to a pimp, she said Sunday.

Naw Ohn Hla, a 45-year-old former member of the National League for Democracy, told The Associated Press that she filed the case Friday in response to "vitriolic articles" against her in 30 private publications. She is to appear in court Feb. 13.

Naw Ohn Hla said some of the articles linked her to a well-known, now deceased pimp from an area of Yangon where she lives.

Naw Ohn Hla is one of a dozen women who visit Yangon's famous Shwedagon pagoda every Tuesday to pray for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years. She is also involved in other political activities.

The junta says commentaries published in the state-run media and private journals do not represent the government's opinion. Yet, private journals say they are subjected to rigid control and come under intense pressure from the junta to publish articles favoring the government.

Today in Asia - Pacific
An EU-like pact for Asean: A distant dream? Australians debate immigration and national identity North Korea set to resume finance talks with U.S.The editor of one local journal, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of official reprisal, said, "We don't want to carry such nasty articles in the paper, but we are forced to allot space for (such) articles provided by the government."

Myanmar's state-run media often carries articles lashing out at opponents of the military regime, ranging from Suu Kyi and student activists within the country to U.S. President George Bush and South Africa's Desmond Tu Tu.

I'm feeling like a rebel today

You actually made me want to cry that day. I felt so awful about myself. Seriously awful. I told all my friends about it. And I was mad I let you get to me.

And today you turn around and you want me.

I DON'T THINK SO!

“Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the making of action in spite of fear; the moving out against the resistance engendered by fear into the unknown and into the future.”

I'm kinda completely freaked out right now, from what happened moments ago - blood rushing around inside my head, heart pumping wildy, breathing irregular.

Scenarios keep flashing inside my head. I'm afraid to wish for what I want.

Don't you think I know exactly where I stand? This world keeps forcing me to hold your hand...

There are always 2 kinds of people in the world. 1- that appreciate the differences between each other and marvel in it. 2 - the kind that force you to be the same as they are because they can't handle that you might be different becuase it might mean you are better or inferior.

I often meet the type 2. In fact, I feel like someone just stabbed me in the heart with a dull pencil. You can't force me to be cookie cutter like you because I'm not. I'm just me. And I've stopped trying to fit into everyone's idea of gold everywhere I go, because it's exhausting. Yes, I'm different. I don't talk like you, look like you or think like you. But why is that a bad thing?

If you can't handle who I am, you might as well just take a mannequinn and dress her up as how you want her to be. That's all.

It's snowing in Los Angeles!!

I am speechless. I have loss of speech.

Freeze shuts down I-5 at Grapevine

Freeze shuts down I-5 at Grapevine
By Jesus Sanchez and Greg Griggs, Times Staff Writers
4:36 PM PST, January 17, 2007

Snow and ice forced the closure of the I-5 Freeway today at the Grapevine as a winter storm left a dusting of snow across scattered parts of the region, including the hills above Malibu and the Santa Clarita Valley.

The California Highway Patrol began to escort small groups of northbound vehicles on the I-5 in the late afternoon but southbound traffic lanes remained closed between Laval Road in Kern County and Parker Road in Castaic. It was not known when the state's busiest north-south link would fully reopen.

Scattered snow and rain showers were reported across Southern California today as a fast-moving winter storm was expected to bring the snow level down to as low as 1,500 feet above sea level in some locations, according to the National Weather Service.

The Santa Monica Mountains southeast of Westlake Village were also dusted with snow this afternoon.

A public works crew had just cleared the roadway when Joy Blanchard and her 16-year-old daughter, Sasha, parked their SUV along the shoulder of southbound Kanan Road near Triunfo Canyon to get a better view.

"We were coming home from Costco and as soon as we came over the ridge we saw snow on the tops of people's cars," Blanchard said.

"This, like, makes my year," said Sasha, who had seen snow only once before at Mammoth when she was 12. "I'm overjoyed and excited."

The teenager then proceeded to make snowballs and a miniature snowman with the fine white powder.

"This is big news," her mother said. "This is awesome."

jesus.sanchez@latimes.com

Myanmar state media accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of tax evasion

Imagine the scenario: Than Shwe. Maung Aye and Thura Shwe Man- sitting in a conference room in Nay Pyi Daw - surrounded by their "yes" men. They have coffee, tea, biscuits and talk about last night's card game. And then Than Shwe goes "Listen, guys, we really need to make Daw Aung San Suu Kyi look bad to the Burmese people and foreigners. All the efforts that we have put in over the last 16 years doesn't seem to have work"

Thura Shwe Man: "I have something! Wait till you here this. I bet even that crazy Condi will think this is absurd. Then maybe she will back us.

Than Shwe: "What? It better be good, I have cancer, I need good news."

Thura Man Shwe: "We accuse her of tax evasion! I mean, when she won that stupid Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, her son had to accept her award for her and they never sent the money home. She should have spent the money on this golden land, instead of wasting it in the U.S"

Maung Aye & Than Shwe: Brilliant! Everyone will back us on this. Hahaha, no one will support her NOW after they hear this!

Than Shwe: "Well, Thura, you have proven yourself well. Maybe I will let you be in charge after I give up the throne." (Maung Aye pretends not to hear)

Maung Aye: "Oh, Oh, and at the same time, remind people that we have always been lenient on ASSK! We are very generous with her, after all."

Myanmar state media accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of tax evasion

ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:06 a.m. January 18, 2007

YANGON, Myanmar – State media on Thursday accused pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of evading taxes by spending her money from the 1991 Nobel Peace prize and other awards overseas.
Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader, has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years.

Myanmar's military junta regularly calls her a threat to national unity and says she and her party are trying to undermine the government by collaborating with foreign powers.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper carried another accusation in its Thursday edition. Commentaries in the state-run press often reflect the viewpoint of the country's military government.

“She avoided paying taxes to the State by asking her family members abroad to spend all her cash awards provided by international organizations and honorariums presented for her works she had created abroad, instead of spending the money in the country,” the newspaper wrote.

Suu Kyi was married to a British academic, Michael Aris, who died of cancer in Britain in 1999. Her two grown sons live abroad.

The junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election victory.

She has been given nearly 100 awards and honorary titles for her nonviolent efforts to achieve democracy. Among them were the 1991 Nobel Peace prize, for which she was awarded 6 million Swedish kronor, currently equivalent to about $856,000.

The newspaper also said that the junta has treated Suu Kyi leniently by putting her under house arrest and not sending her to prison.

“It was very considerate of the government to put only restrictions on her, instead of punishing her in accordance with (the) law,” the paper said.

Writer's Block

Writer's block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity - Wikipedia.

I'm having terrible writer's block. I can't even write blog entries (well, except to tell you how I'm having a writer's block), it's how bad it is and don't even mention poems - my poems sound contrite and cliche.

Also I've been trying to work on short stories and you know, often before I go to bed, or when I get a glimpse of interaction between unusual people, or unusual events, I write them in my head, i start the stories, I think about what I will write next, I think about story structures - how it will pann out, I think about how to describe the main characters, secondary ones.

So I end up with a bunch of beginnings, no middles and no ending. And then I will start to write and I will sit there, words not forming, ideas not coming out of my brian, my witty writing is not there, my sarcastic coincidences and unsuspected tragedies all gone - hanging in the air above me, waiting for me to get through to them. Awfully frustrating!!

I hope it goes away soon. VERY soon.

We might as well...

Sometimes I feel as though I'm wandering in the fog, or sometimes, struggling against the wind and the rain on a vast field with green grass below my feet but nothing around me but the blanket of fog or the sheets of rain for company. My umbrella is leaking, my eyes aren't doing too good in the fog and my shoes are squishy from all the wetness. And I keep trying to find a straight path because that's what you do - you try to find a way across the field of uncertainty because the alternative would be to live in the middle of it and eat grass and drink rain to survive, which I find it to be a rather scant way to live. So, you forge on, trying to find something warm, bright, something that will fix your umbrella, and at the same time give you a pashmina blanket to warm you up.

I know, I'm feeling all riddly today. I been talking to friends, peers, of around the same age and I keep seeing that we are all in these jobs, we all work in these high rise offices and we lie to our clients and our bosees and our suppliers and worse, sometimes, we lie to ourselves. I mean, it's not that we are inherently unhappy in it, it gives us something to do, new friends to make, new things to learn and it covers basic nessecity like food, drinks and rent. But none of it really excite us. Perhaps in the beginning it used to - But the drone of the life in the cubicles, masked in our striped shirts, black jackets, white coats, and funky pumps, we want something more.

Typical of an 80's child, we want passion, we want excitement, we want to go further on the paths where our parents had forged to create openings for. We are also given choices, we expect for the choices we make to make us happy. We know we are lucky, because, unlike our parents who were given just wuther A or B; We have Cs and Ds. But somehow, we want E, F and G or at least, a D++++++. Because we dont know the meaning of life - except that it is to go past finding the meaning of life, but rather just to live.

And this, I think we have a problem doing well. We work too late, we try to please too much, we want the praise, we want the love, we want it to be perfect and we want it to be meaningful.

And yet we sit in these grey cubicles, shuffling papers, rushing off to meetings, doing things not described in the job description, doing things that does not warrant us with some sense of achievement, things that we don't get creative about, reading unneccessary emails about the fights within the company and we do it and we do it well, or shabby at times and we wonder if this is all there is. We talk to our friends about our boredom, we complain to our colleagues, we bitch about our bosses and their bosses and we ask ourselves what it is that we really want. Soon, we find ourselves in the field, with green grass underneath our feet, with a blanket of fog around us or sheets of rain with a leaky umbrella.

We might as well be called Generation Lost.

Notthatthatsabadthing

Why do all the caged birds sing?

I implore you, please read this article below. Funniest thing I found since the new year.

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Singapore

excerpts from the article:

"Singapore. is the only shopping mall with a seat in the United Nations.... in 2004, a worldwide poll ranked Singapore as the 4th "country that no one would miss if it were completely obliterated next Tuesday", behind Bhutan"

"Singapore is famous for being a shopper's paradise. There are 2.1 million shopping malls in Singapore, nearly one for every two citizens. Of these malls, over 2 million of them have exactly the same shops, which makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for"

"Unbeknownst to the evil Japanese, Lee Kwan Yew was actually an Immortal with electromagnetic and cyberpathic powers. Lee Kwan Yew defeated the Japanese and drove the British from Singaporean shores - although he did allow them to leave their QI DVDs because he liked them quite alot. But not enough to let them live."

"Singapore follows a democratic single-party system, which means that the people are free to all make the same choice."

"The Singaporean education system is based upon military-style education, which encompasses crushing the will of the student and moulding him or her into the image of the leader."

-- My views --

there are some very good truths in this page, y'all but that's where I end my view.

But in case ya'll dont hear from me soon, you know why and what hapened.

Good night, Singapore!