World News Random, Random

[JazzNU]

Very confused about the statement from Jen's office. Mistake because it was rushed or was that intentional? I do think they still call them the Burmese military even in the context of Myanmar as the country name. Also think they reference the people similarly. But confused on the Burma title to then reference Myanmar and then back to Burma.

[mmmm8]

Very confused about the statement from Jen's office. Mistake because it was rushed or was that intentional? I do think they still call them the Burmese military even in the context of Myanmar as the country name. Also think they reference the people similarly. But confused on the Burma title to then reference Myanmar and then back to Burma.

The US recognizes the country name as Burma because that was the name before the previous military coup and so the Department of State prefers Burma in support of democracy there.

However, this has come up before with not sticking to this rule:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... es-myanmar

[patrick]

Myanmar military says it is taking control of the country

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.

An presenter on military-owned Myawaddy TV made the announcement and cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. He said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.

The announcement follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup — and military denials — and came on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to begin.

The detention of the politicians and cuts in communication services on Monday were the first signals that plans to seize power were in motion. Phone and internet access to Naypyitaw was lost and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party could not be reached.

The Irrawaddy, an established online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, who as state counsellor is the nation’s top leader, and the country’s president, Win Myint, were both detained in the pre-dawn hours. The news service cited Myo Nyunt, a spokesman for the NLD.

Its report said that the party’s Central Executive Committee members, lawmakers and regional Cabinet members had also been taken into custody.

The U.S., Australia and others issued statements expressing concern reports and urging Myanmar’s military to respect the rule of law.

“The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement from Washington. She said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the reported developments.

“The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed,” the statement said. Burma is the former name of Myanmar.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for the release of Suu Kyi and others reported to be detained. “We strongly support the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly, consistent with the results of the November 2020 general election,” she said.

Myanmar lawmakers were to gather Monday in the capital Naypyitaw for the first session of Parliament since last year’s election.

The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is by far the country’s most dominant politician, and became the country’s leader after leading a decades-long nonviolent struggle against military rule.

Suu Kyi’s party captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament in the November polls, but the military holds 25% of the total seats under the 2008 military-drafted constitution and several key ministerial positions are also reserved for military appointees.

The military, known as the Tatmadaw, charged that there was massive voting fraud in the election, though it has failed to provide proof. The state Union Election Commission last week rejected its allegations.

Amid the bickering over the allegations, the military last Tuesday ramped up political tension when a spokesman at its weekly news conference, responding to a reporter’s question, declined to rule out the possibility of a coup. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun elaborated by saying the military would “follow the laws in accordance with the constitution.”

Using similar language, Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing told senior officers in a speech Wednesday that the constitution could be revoked if the laws were not being properly enforced. Adding to the concern was the unusual deployment of armored vehicles in the streets of several large cities.

On Saturday, however, the military denied it had threatened a coup, accusing unnamed organizations and media of misrepresenting its position and taking the general’s words out of context.

On Sunday, it reiterated its denial, this time blaming unspecified foreign embassies of misinterpreting the military’s position and calling on them “not to make unwarranted assumptions about the situation.”


https://apnews.com/article/aung-san-suu ... ce=Twitter

Is that what GOP wanted Mr Rioter to do?

[JazzNU]

Britain was the colonial power in Myanmar/Burma. Boris say anything yet?

Maybe he cares more than I realize, but I feel like Boris was like:

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

Excuse me? Is this some "secret"? The UK government is not aware of that? There have been, I can't recall, many investigative reports about this, in the UK, Netherlands and Germany, for years.
NOW they call it disturbing?

[JazzNU]

I'm not sure if they meant it this way, but I read this as, we knew there was plenty of Russian money laundering here, but guys, it has now reached a disturbing level. Like hey, maybe we can't keep looking the other way.

Probably suddenly concerned with what the money will go towards with Nalvany and the protests. CYA

[ti-amie]

AND no more EU to run interference. TBH I was surprised this didn't get more attention during the run up to formal Brexit. Some did mention that the vision is for England to become a European version of Singapore but only in passing.

[JazzNU]

Like a tax haven or something else?

[ti-amie]

I really don't know if a tax haven and "something else" don't go hand in hand.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

By now, anything that relates to Amazon (not the jungle), belongs in World News.
Jeff Bezos could give all Amazon workers $105,000 and still be as rich as pre-Covid

Snippet from inside that article:
"Earlier this year, TLE revealed that the world’s ten richest men have added more than $132 billion to their combined net worth this year, despite the devastating impact of the coronavirus crisis on the global economy."

Yep. Sounds right.

[Suliso]

I wonder if there is any economic or political development whatsoever, other than heavy taxation, which would be more favorable to a common man than tech billionaires. I'm struggling to think of such...