More protest marches break out in Burma
-
Why do you always see it from a pessimistic angle?Originally posted by soul_rage:and they are also admitting that their world-class education system produces citizens that cannot think for themselves.
The fact is, they are letting the elites from their world-class education system making the decision, 'cos they are the elites. In any education system, whether world-class or no-class, there will always be elites and non-elites. The elites are supposedly better right? What's more, elites from a world-class system.
If you are a non-elite, it means you lack something that the elite doesn't. It can be as minor as not able to see the future as clearly as the elites. Well, the elites are usually more strategically placed to see the future. -
such sweet irony.Originally posted by Icemoon:'cos the govt knows many people are stupid and they will not make the best choice.
you see .. the govt knows it when 66.6% chooses the incumbent to continue the rule.
-
I beg to differ from your statement.Originally posted by Icemoon:Why do you always see it from a pessimistic angle?
The fact is, they are letting the elites from their world-class education system making the decision, 'cos they are the elites. In any education system, whether world-class or no-class, there will always be elites and non-elites. The elites are supposedly better right? What's more, elites from a world-class system.
If you are a non-elite, it means you lack something that the elite doesn't. It can be as minor as not able to see the future as clearly as the elites. Well, the elites are usually more strategically placed to see the future.
Most of the 'elites' (I will use the '' quotes coz its a term they give themselves. No one confer this term to these jokers), are schooled in other universities. Which brings me to another point. They don't even believe in their 'world-class' system which they are so proud of. -
153510.1
Burning down Myanmar's Internet firewall
By Shawn W Crispin
YANGON - Myanmar maintains some of the world's most restrictive Internet controls, including government-administered blocks on foreign news sites and the use of popular e-mail services. But when politically sensitive fuel-price protests broke out last month in the old capital city Yangon, government censors proved powerless to stop the outflow of information and images over the Internet to the outside world.
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) authorities have increased their efforts to curb local and foreign media coverage of the protests and their heavy-handed response against demonstrators. Pro-government thugs have been deployed to
harass and intimidate local journalists and camera-carriers, some of whom have had their mobile-phone services cut.
Authorities initially ordered a blackout on all local media coverage of the protests and have since crafted and placed articles in mouthpiece media criticizing the protest leaders they have detained. But the government is losing decidedly its most crucial censorship battle: over the Internet. Despite government bans, journalists and dissidents continue to send information and video clips of the protests over the Internet to foreign-based news organizations.
Exile-run media have published detailed blow-by-blow accounts and explicit video clips of government crackdowns. Popular video-sharing website YouTube is flush with footage of the protests posted by citizen journalists under Burmese names, including one posting by a user who apparently uses the same name as SPDC leader General Than Shwe. The Thailand-based, exile-run Irrawaddy - a la CNN - has called on the Myanmar population to play the role of citizen journalists and send information to their newsdesk.
So why have the Myanmar authorities, who had apparently deployed some of the most restrictive cyber-controls anywhere in the world, so utterly failed to stem the outflow of sensitive information? Myanmar's military government deploys various software-based filtering techniques aimed at severely limiting the content the country's citizens can access online.
Most Internet accounts in Myanmar are designed to provide access only to the limited Myanmar intranet, and the authorities block access to popular e-mail services such as Gmail and Hotmail. According to the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), a joint research project on Internet censorship issues headed by Harvard University, Myanmar's Internet-censorship regime as of 2005 was among the "most extensive" in the world.
The research noted that the Myanmar government "maintains the capability to conduct surveillance of communication methods such as e-mail, and to block users from viewing websites of political opposition groups and organizations working for democratic change in Burma". An ONI-conducted survey of websites containing material known to be sensitive to the regime found in 2005 that 84% of the pages they tested were blocked. The regime also maintained an 85% filtration rate of well-known e-mail service providers, in line with, as ONI put it, the government's "well-documented efforts to monitor communication by its citizens and to control political dissent and opposition movements".
Myanmar's technical censorship capabilities were also reputedly bolstered by the regime's procurement and implementation of filtering software produced and sold by US technology company Fortinet. According to ONI's research, the regime was as of 2005 continuing to seek to refine its censorship regime, which showed no signs of lessening and could worsen as it moves to more sophisticated software products.
Eschewing the censors
Two years later, thanks to the growing global proliferation of proxy servers, proxy sites, encrypted e-mail accounts, http tunnels and other creative workarounds, the cyber-reality in Myanmar is actually much less restricted than ONI's research indicated.
To be sure, official Internet penetration rates are abysmally low in Myanmar, because of the prohibitive cost and bureaucratic hassle, including the provision of a signed letter from the relevant porter warden that the applicant is not "politically dangerous", to secure a domestic connection.
However, those low figures mask the explosion of usage at public Internet cafes, particularly in Yangon, where a growing number are situated in nondescript, hard-to-find locales. All of the cafes visited in recent months by this correspondent were equipped with foreign-hosted proxy sites or servers, which with the help of the cafe attendant allowed customers to bypass government firewalls and connect freely to the World Wide Web - including access to otherwise blocked critical news sources.
One particularly popular proxy site in Myanmar's cyber-cafes is Glite.sayni.net, popularly known as Glite. According to the site's India-based administrator, the Glite program has been downloaded by tens of thousands of Internet surfers and resides on hundreds of private and public servers in Myanmar, allowing its users to access Gmail accounts that the government has tried to block.
The authorities have so far moved to block three particular Glite versions, but the program's administrator says he has in response designed and set up more sites, of which he estimates there are currently 11 unblocked versions, some of which are housed in support site forums in a format that is difficult to search and block.
He says Glite is also designed not to be indexed by search sites, which gives Myanmar's Internet cafes their own private and secure access and makes censor search-engine results for its site seem deceptively sparse. Although the site's administrator says he is "apolitical", he believes Myanmar's junta is "fighting a losing battle" in trying to censor the Internet.
Other popular proxy servers in Yangon's cafes are Your-freedom.net and Yeehart.com, both of which similarly maintain new, updated versions to bypass government firewalls. The same is true for various encrypted e-mail services, including the hyper-secure Hushmail.com, which many local and exile-based journalists have been trained to use and technology experts say the junta lacks the expertise to crack.
The proliferation of evasive small-scale technologies, some like Glite maintained by private individuals with a penchant for programming, have in these restive times left Myanmar's junta with few viable censorship options but to unplug the Internet altogether. Indeed, there have been recent reports of rolling Internet blackouts across Yangon's cyber-cafes, particularly during the late afternoons, when journalists would normally file their stories.
So far the authorities seem reluctant to make yet another policy decision, on top of last month's hyper-inflationary fuel-price hikes, that would impinge on national livelihoods, particularly the urban-based business class, who judging by their numbers in Yangon's cyber-cafes have grown increasingly reliant on the Internet for cheap communications. That, of course, could change in the weeks ahead if the street protests mount and the government cracks down more forcefully.
Yet the comprehensive news coverage that has leaked out of Myanmar represents an important victory for the global forces fighting to keep the Internet free from government censorship. And when the dust finally clears on Myanmar's popular protests, depending on the eventual outcome, the information-driven movement could one day be known as Myanmar's Glite revolution. -
The world-class system starts at the pre-tertiary level. At the pre-tertiary level, our science and maths levels are already on par or above par with most of the developed nations.Originally posted by soul_rage:I beg to differ from your statement.
Most of the 'elites' (I will use the '' quotes coz its a term they give themselves. No one confer this term to these jokers), are schooled in other universities. Which brings me to another point. They don't even believe in their 'world-class' system which they are so proud of.
Can you dispute that?
Furthermore many of our elites received accolades in "other universities". For example our dear PM was a top mathematics graduate with a double tripos in none other than Cambridge University. -
is the above statement "At pre-tertiary..." proven or just a case of perception?Originally posted by Icemoon:The world-class system starts at the pre-tertiary level. At the pre-tertiary level, our science and maths levels are already on par or above par with most of the developed nations.
Can you dispute that?
Furthermore many of our elites received accolades in "other universities". For example our dear PM was a top mathematics graduate with a double tripos in none other than Cambridge University. -
It has been proven at least 12 years ago.Originally posted by soul_rage:is the above statement "At pre-tertiary..." proven or just a case of perception?
Singapore Number One In Mathematics And Seventh In Science In The Third International Mathematics And Science Study (TIMSS) 1995
Singapore Number One In Mathematics Again And Rose To Number Two In Science In The Third International Mathematics And Science Study (TIMSS) 1999
Here is another one. Read it and be proud.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/306/5705/2173a
Since science and maths are the foundations of modern science and technology (and progress), I'd say our pre-teritary education is pretty world class.
Singapore Leads, U.S. Lags in Science, Math Student Achievement
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
According to the 2003 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study,released last week by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Singaporean students lead the world in math and science. Educators say that the top ranking, among elementary and middle school students from as many as 49 countries, also demonstrates how a nation's commitment to excellence can pay off fairly quickly. -
How come 'elite' comes into Myanmar protest?
I always dream of being an elite. I wanted to join the elite force - so that I can conquer the dark force! -
A top grad who can derive hum from mee siam...Originally posted by Icemoon:The world-class system starts at the pre-tertiary level. At the pre-tertiary level, our science and maths levels are already on par or above par with most of the developed nations.
Can you dispute that?
Furthermore many of our elites received accolades in "other universities". For example our dear PM was a top mathematics graduate with a double tripos in none other than Cambridge University.
-
Got this in the mail just now. Sounds like a level-headed recommendation to me.
---------------
NTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW MEDIA RELEASE
Myanmar: Time for Urgent Action
New York/Brussels, 25 September 2007: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should hold urgent talks with the foreign ministers of China, India and Singapore, the current ASEAN chair, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and lead a joint attempt to encourage peaceful dialogue in Myanmar/Burma. China, India, and ASEAN should back Ban Ki-moonÂ’s call on the authorities in Myanmar to exercise restraint in the face of growing peaceful protests and put their full weight behind UN efforts to find a solution to the countryÂ’s political crisis.
“The regime has a long history of violent reactions to peaceful demonstrations,” said Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group. “If serious loss of life is to be averted, those UN members with influence over the government are going to have to come together fast.”
Only China, India, and, to a lesser degree, ASEAN have any influence on the military regime. China has very close economic and political links with Myanmar, while India has developed strong military ties. Both would suffer from worsening instability there, as they did after the violent August 1988 military crackdown. In the past, the military junta has fired on peaceful protestors or used vigilante groups to attack them. Demonstrations in recent days have reached a country-wide scale where such action could cause massive loss of life.
The Secretary-General has been using his good offices to deal with the political stalemate in Myanmar. His Special Envoy for Myanmar, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has been trying to negotiate the release of opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to encourage dialogue between the military and the National League for Democracy. These efforts have made little progress as the military authorities have moved forward with a constitutional drafting process that will cement them in power despite evident public opposition to their rule.
China, India and ASEAN should communicate to the military that a repeat of the 1998 violence would be unacceptable and would lead to serious consequences, including action by the UN Security Council. China and Russia should warn Myanmar that they would support full consideration of the situation there by the Security Council, as well as a possible adoption of a Security Council Resolution, if the military use force against protestors.
The Security Council should re-affirm its support of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s good offices mission and urge MyanmarÂ’s leaders to work with the Special Envoy to map out measurable steps towards economic and political reform. Those countries with close ties to Myanmar should urge the military to release all political prisoners, including Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi; take steps to alleviate economic hardship and introduce serious reforms; and start a real dialogue with the opposition.
------
The International Crisis Group (Crisis Group) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation covering some 60 crisis-affected countries and territories across four continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. -
He probably doesn't pay much attention to food.Originally posted by linchiling:A top grad who can derive hum from mee siam...
One thing to note, he was the one who urged us citizens to be more flexible. He was wondering why citizens like to 'cluster-fark' in one queue, when other counters are available for queueing. Arent citizens part of 'All nationalities'? -
But this is not what the monks and people wanted.Originally posted by LazerLordz:The Security Council should re-affirm its support of the Secretary-GeneralÂ’s good offices mission and urge MyanmarÂ’s leaders to work with the Special Envoy to map out measurable steps towards economic and political reform. Those countries with close ties to Myanmar should urge the military to release all political prisoners, including Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi; take steps to alleviate economic hardship and introduce serious reforms; and start a real dialogue with the opposition.
One side wants to remove the junta; the UN wants to work with the junta. -
What do you know about political vibes when you have no clue of what the word ''meaningless'' in your own performance ?Originally posted by TheGoodEarth:
Quote: Originally posted by Atobe:
The Aged now living in old folks' home and nursing homes - as well as in hospices - are placed there by their children who are unable to look after them, due to the pigeon-hole environment, and also due to the demands of the First World Cost of Living that this MIW had created, while still giving us a Third World Pigeon-hole environment.
Do you think those in the old folks' home and nursing homes will have any ability to walk out of those places ?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wah, your energy is growing. Soon you will take off to Myanmar?
I see where all your gripes are. Basically, you have nuthing to offer with regards to the circumstances I mentioned but just like the many others you have plenty of vibes. Use your energy wisely. The old folks problems whatever the cause - require your energy to help. Why don't you knock some senses into these unfilial children than waste your precious life on meaningless political vibes that cannot solve sufferings???
Unfilial kids - are you talking about those who work for the MIW to cheat their parents CPF ? Like yourself ?
The fact that this Government aka the MIW is making a concerted efforts to change the CPF payout into an Annuity Scheme demands the efforts of every Singaporean to expose this broken contract of trust.
Do you have anything to offer in return besides recommending to put your head into the hole, so as to imagine that the hole is no longer there ?
Your kind of thinking is the typical work of an 'agent provocateur' working for the MIW - with the sole purpose to ridicule, distract, and deviate all sensible debates into senseless flaming.
It is clear from all your efforts up to this point, that your objective is to redirect the energy of those who have better ideas, and deviate the efforts of others by sabotaging clear thinking with disruptive and mischevious taunts.
It is time that we should knock some sense into useless kids like you who have no feelings for those who are being cheated of their savings, and like some of the MIW will tell a white lie to cover the black lie.
Was it not your brilliant suggestion to keep ones' head in the hole, so that the hole will no longer be within sight to cause any further agony ?
It will do you well to take your own advise and bury your head in our hole, so that you do not need to agonise yourself by reading the angst that you imagine is emitted from our posts. -
Beijing warns Burmese generals against repression
Rowan Callick, China correspondent | September 26, 2007
BURMA'S chief ally, China, has let Rangoon know that it cannot provide even moral support for any repression of the wave of protests led by Buddhist monks.
At the start of the year, China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution directing the Secretary-General to open negotiations with the Burmese regime, in part because of China's longstanding opposition to international interference in "domestic affairs".
Now, on the same principle, it is declining to offer public backing for the generals.
However, the Chinese Government is also urging the regime to resolve its challenges without resorting to force and thus risking dragging the country and its neighbours - it shares a 1700km border with China - into an imbroglio.
Much of the West applies diplomatic and political sanctions against Burma's junta for its refusal to restore democracy, but Chinese aid - along with oil and gas revenues it receives - undercuts any leverage they might have had.
Burma has been moving handily within the Chinese sphere of influence, providing it with a valuable route to the Indian Ocean and thus to the energy flows from the Middle East.
A fortnight ago, former foreign minister and frequent presidential envoy Tang Jiaxuan, besides urging Burma to "push forward a democracy process that is appropriate for the country", also backed the generals' plan to move towards a market economy - reinforcing the influence of China as their key development model.
Large numbers of Chinese businesspeople, technicians and workers have begun moving to Burma for lengthy periods. Three Burmese cities, Lashio, Mandalay and Muse, have been described as "virtually Chinese cities now", and China is building a tax-free export zone for its own industries, next to the port of Rangoon.
The Chinese media are handling the Burmese protests with great caution, as they usually do when reporting movements against any governments. But the Chinese official newsagency Xinhua reported that the number of demonstrators has swollen over the past week, and that monks, "joined by larger crowds of young civilians, marched peacefully through Rangoon".
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22481995-25837,00.html -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070926/wl_afp/myanmarprotestmonksfrancediplomat_070926100045;_ylt=At6u.58hPSRXgbVu7gRkWYH9xg8F
Myanmar military shot at protesters: French diplomat
33 minutes ago
PARIS (AFP) - The Myanmar military opened fire on crowds of protesters in Yangon, almost certainly causing casualties, a French diplomat in the city said Wednesday.
"Shots were fired by the security forces, first in the air, then at the demonstrators. We cannot know if many people were injured but we can be sure that blood was spilled," Emmanuel Mouriez, number two at the French embassy, told French radio RTL.
"We have several witness accounts describing people lying on the ground," he added.
Soldiers and police in junta-ruled Myanmar fired tear gas on about 1,000 protesters led by Buddhist monks early Wednesday as they started a march from a landmark Yangon pagoda, witnesses said.
Despite the crackdown, tens of thousands of protesters regrouped in downtown Yangon an hour later, according to witnesses.[/b] -
I think the Burmese govt will be deep trouble considering the fact they caused an embarassment to ASEAN.
-
Deep trouble? Maybe from US and the European Union. ASEAN was never an advocate of human rights imhoOriginally posted by will4:I think the Burmese govt will be deep trouble considering the fact they caused an embarassment to ASEAN.
Only eye and mouth power... -
If u come to take a look at the whole situation, the generals were lucky that the crowd never consist of people armed with weapon that they can usedOriginally posted by linchiling:Deep trouble? Maybe from US and the European Union. ASEAN was never an advocate of human rights imho Only eye and mouth power...
against the riot cops. -
can't believe it... they're harmless folks for god's sake....Originally posted by will4:If u come to take a look at the whole situation, the generals were lucky that the crowd never consist of people armed with weapon that they can used
against the riot cops.
can tyranny only be overthrown with violence??? 
-
Originally posted by Atobe:[b]
What do you know about political vibes when you have no clue of what the word ''meaningless'' in your own performance ?
yayaya ... papaya ... only you and the many self-proclaimed political vibers are smart and intelligent. All else are rock-bottom meaningless. Try harder next time .... this line is getting useless ....
Unfilial kids - are you talking about those who work for the MIW to cheat their parents CPF ? Like yourself ?
hahaaha, can't argue but knows how to finger. All the clueless vibes and meaningless gripes.
The fact that this Government aka the MIW is making a concerted efforts to change the CPF payout into an Annuity Scheme demands the efforts of every Singaporean to expose this broken contract of trust.
hmmmm ..... political vibe no less .... your strenuous effort can't help the aged and the poor. And I for one wouldn't trust you to do that.
Do you have anything to offer in return besides recommending to put your head into the hole, so as to imagine that the hole is no longer there ?
hahaha, an ostrich here trying to dig a hole for another?
Your kind of thinking is the typical work of an 'agent provocateur' working for the MIW - with the sole purpose to ridicule, distract, and deviate all sensible debates into senseless flaming.
hahahaha, you are griped by an obssession: a dark agent is shadowing you all the time. And yes, you are the most ridiculous obsessor so far.
It is clear from all your efforts up to this point, that your objective is to redirect the energy of those who have better ideas, and deviate the efforts of others by sabotaging clear thinking with disruptive and mischevious taunts.
More like your objective. My objective is to get you to help the aged and the poor! Come, join me to cheer these people at the nursing home. I am sure they can laugh at your ridiculous political vibes.
It is time that we should knock some sense into useless kids like you who have no feelings for those who are being cheated of their savings, and like some of the MIW will tell a white lie to cover the black lie.
yayaaya ... papaya again, you are the most un-useless kid in SG. The nursing home can do with your 'usefulness'.
Was it not your brilliant suggestion to keep ones' head in the hole, so that the hole will no longer be within sight to cause any further agony ?
yaayaya ... papaya will grow out of holes you dig.
It will do you well to take your own advise and bury your head in our hole, so that you do not need to agonise yourself by reading the angst that you imagine is emitted from our posts.
No lah, the angst is with you. You are the one in agony - cause you can't decide against your conscience to help the aged and the poor. Take my advice: come to the nursing home. It will do you well. -
It is a mistake to admit Burma as a member.Originally posted by linchiling:can't believe it... they're harmless folks for god's sake.... can tyranny only be overthrown with violence??? -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070926/wl_afp/myanmarprotestmonkstoll_070926123044;_ylt=AjXWjgKRC_QbYrG6M.1.cwf9xg8F
23 minutes ago
YANGON (AFP) - At least three monks were killed in clashes with Myanmar security forces who cracked down on anti-government protests in Yangon, two officials told AFP.
ADVERTISEMENT
"According to the information that we received, at least three monks were killed," one Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
One monk was killed when a gun went off as he tried to wrestle the weapon away from a soldier, while two others were beaten to death, the official said.
His account was confirmed by a second official, who said the toll was based on official reports of incidents that took place around the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest site and a key rallying point for the monks. -
The situation in Myanmar is getting bloody. The junta now is not just dictators but murderers. The military has WMD - Weapons of Monk Destruction. The US should step in - to rid the junta off WMD.
-
Originally posted by TheGoodEarth:
Unfortunately, it takes pile of crap to make the earth good.
Quote: Originally posted by Atobe:
What do you know about political vibes when you have no clue of what the word ''meaningless'' in your own performance ?
yayaya ... papaya ... only you and the many self-proclaimed political vibers are smart and intelligent. All else are rock-bottom meaningless. Try harder next time .... this line is getting useless ....
Unfilial kids - are you talking about those who work for the MIW to cheat their parents CPF ? Like yourself ?
hahaaha, can't argue but knows how to finger. All the clueless vibes and meaningless gripes.
The fact that this Government aka the MIW is making a concerted efforts to change the CPF payout into an Annuity Scheme demands the efforts of every Singaporean to expose this broken contract of trust.
hmmmm ..... political vibe no less .... your strenuous effort can't help the aged and the poor. And I for one wouldn't trust you to do that.
Do you have anything to offer in return besides recommending to put your head into the hole, so as to imagine that the hole is no longer there ?
hahaha, an ostrich here trying to dig a hole for another?
Your kind of thinking is the typical work of an 'agent provocateur' working for the MIW - with the sole purpose to ridicule, distract, and deviate all sensible debates into senseless flaming.
hahahaha, you are griped by an obssession: a dark agent is shadowing you all the time. And yes, you are the most ridiculous obsessor so far.
It is clear from all your efforts up to this point, that your objective is to redirect the energy of those who have better ideas, and deviate the efforts of others by sabotaging clear thinking with disruptive and mischevious taunts.
More like your objective. My objective is to get you to help the aged and the poor! Come, join me to cheer these people at the nursing home. I am sure they can laugh at your ridiculous political vibes.
It is time that we should knock some sense into useless kids like you who have no feelings for those who are being cheated of their savings, and like some of the MIW will tell a white lie to cover the black lie.
yayaaya ... papaya again, you are the most un-useless kid in SG. The nursing home can do with your 'usefulness'.
Was it not your brilliant suggestion to keep ones' head in the hole, so that the hole will no longer be within sight to cause any further agony ?
yaayaya ... papaya will grow out of holes you dig.
It will do you well to take your own advise and bury your head in our hole, so that you do not need to agonise yourself by reading the angst that you imagine is emitted from our posts.
No lah, the angst is with you. You are the one in agony - cause you can't decide against your conscience to help the aged and the poor. Take my advice: come to the nursing home. It will do you well.
What else can we expect from The GoodEarth but crap ? -
just ignore bahOriginally posted by Atobe:[b]
Unfortunately, it takes pile of crap to make the earth good.
What else can we expect from The GoodEarth but crap ?