Myanmar General Discussion (non military)

[Carlosa]

When he loses an argument, usually along the lines of idealism vs complex realities on the ground, he starts lashing out and will call you names. It's his standard M.O.

Yeah, this guy has issues with reality and like you said before, its like talking to a wall

 

[alaungphaya]

Well this is very interesting. US military engagement in Myanmar. Actually this has happened before. Back in the late 70's, the US engaged with the then Burma in the war on drugs. But in this context, it is quite a strange move from the Pentagon/White House.

US Sends Mixed Message to Myanmar Military - ABC News

US Sends Mixed Message to Myanmar Military
WASHINGTON — Dec 12, 2014, 3:34 AM ET
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press


Human rights advocates and some lawmakers say the United States is sending the wrong signal by opening the door for broader engagement with Myanmar's widely criticized military just weeks after President Barack Obama assured opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi that closer ties weren't going to happen soon.

Congress, acting at the administration's request, is expected to allow U.S. training in some noncombat activities for the military in Myanmar, also known as Burma. This would be part of a sweeping defense policy bill slated to pass this week.

The administration says this does not mean closer ties are imminent with a military known for rights abuses. Patrick Ventrell, a National Security Council spokesman, said the provision would "give us the flexibility to pursue slightly broader engagement if the military takes steps to implement reforms and support Burma's democratic transition."

But lawmakers who oversee U.S. foreign policy say it's ill-timed. Political reforms have stalled, tens of thousands of minority Muslims are still living under apartheid-like conditions in displacement camps after attacks by Buddhist extremists, and fighting is heating up between the government and ethnic rebels.

"It sends the wrong message to the people of Burma who are counting on the U.S. to uphold the values and rights they so desperately seek," said Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, who chairs a House panel on Asia.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said it would be different if reforms were advancing in Myanmar. "But even the president (Obama) is saying they are going backward."

When Obama traveled to Myanmar last month, his second visit in two years, Suu Kyi requested that the U.S. not pursue new areas of military engagement at least until the national elections in late 2015, according to several congressional aides who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge briefings on the trip given by administration officials. The president gave that assurance, the aides said.

Ventrell confirmed Obama discussed the subject with Suu Kyi and others. He said the president's message was that the U.S. did not intend to go further toward "more traditional military-to-military cooperation" until the Burmese military makes clear steps toward reform.

Washington has normalized diplomatic relations and rolled back sanctions to reward the former pariah state's shift away from five decades of authoritarian rule. But the U.S. retains an arms embargo and strictly controls ties with the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar's military is known. So far engagement has been limited to seminars on human rights, rule of law and institutional reform. Myanmar has also been an observer at annual U.S. military exercises hosted by neighboring Thailand.

The defense bill would allow "consultation, education, and training" on humanitarian and disaster relief, and medical and health standards ? areas that critics say should be left to Myanmar's civilian government agencies. The language was drafted by the House and Senate committees that oversee defense policy and are more hopeful than their colleagues on foreign policy panels that military engagement will, over time, encourage reform.

 

[somsak]

Stat are just numbers and it can be falsified. To judge something vague like a religion with "science" you need a hypothesis and also it needs to be rigorously tested & where variables such as "chance" are excluded.

Yes. Correct abiut scientific method. You may look for more info about it in wiki islam. I encourage hou to.do the research. Your ancester choose Indonesia, and what do you get? rounds and rounds of Ethnic cleansing of your type, yet you beleive lies they told you aftermatch. That happened in Muslim countries, not just in indonesia over different ethnic group who happened to be idolator-meaning non muslim. Look the chinese descent in Bhuddhist countries like Thailand, Myanmar, Lao, Cambodia, you see the different.

 

[marbella]

once i met a cleric from myanmar, he made me a wrap with salad and eggs. it was one of the tastiest thing i ever ate.

 

[alaungphaya]

Finally!

Google Translate adds Myanmar to list of languages

Google Translate adds Myanmar to list of languages
Written by Mizzima Published in Technology Read 1337 times

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Google Translate has just added 10 more languages including Myanmar to allow internet users to translate text on websites into their own language.

In a press release on December 11, Google Translate said they were adding 10 languages to Translate, bringing the total number of supported languages to 90.

“Myanmar language has been in the works for a long time as it's a challenging language for automatic translation, both from language structure and font encoding perspectives,” read a Google Translate blogpost.

“While our system understands different Myanmar inputs, we encourage the use of open standards and therefore only output Myanmar translations in Unicode.”




The new languages include Myanmar, Malayalam, Sinhala, Sundanese, Kazakh, Tajik and Chichewa.

These 10 new languages will allow more than 200 million additional people to translate text to and from their native languages, according to the press release.

The languages are available on translate.google.com.

 

[alaungphaya]

You can see the fruits of FDI all over Yangon but we need to use this to develop the very poor rural areas outside of the large urban centers.

Foreign investment creates quarter of a million jobs over 3-4 years

Foreign investment creates quarter of a million jobs over 3-4 years
Written by Thiha Ko Ko Published in Investment Read 800 times

Workers sit on the heavy machinery during the opening of the commencement ceremony of Thilawa Special Economic Zone Project in Thilawa, near Yangon, November 30, 2013. Photo: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA
Foreign investment has led to the creation of 251,008 new jobs over the last three to four years, according to a statement from the National Planning and Economic Development Ministry issued on December 27.

Assessing the jobs created as a result of foreign investment since the government of President U Thein Sein came to power, the ministry found that during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, 47 new foreign investment projects permitted by the Myanmar Investment Commission led to the creation of 16,435 new jobs.

During 2012-2013 fiscal year, 159 new foreign investment projects created 82,196 jobs, and during 2013-2014 fiscal year, 191 new foreign investments led to a further 96,421 jobs.

So far during the 2014-2015 fiscal year up until the end of September 2014, 121 new foreign investment ventures have created 55,951 jobs.

According to the ministry, the total money invested by foreign companies in Myanmar at the end of the 2011-2012 fiscal year stood at US$40.60 billion. The figure has risen to more than $50.60 billion by the end of November 2014.

Foreign investment in Myanmar has gone up in part due to the new Foreign Investment Law and some tax exemptions and tax perks, according to the statement.

The National Planning and Economic Development Ministry is planning to merge the Foreign Investment Law and the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law into one law. It is also planning to amend the Myanmar Companies Act, Partnership Act and the State-Owned Economic Enterprises Law.