BeerSing would do well to acknowledge that this comment is plagiarized verbatim from http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/4878.
Unless, of course, Beersing is actually Harrison George.
“The Dhammakaya Movement claims some 10 million followers around the world.” That’s amazing … and what’s more, the Dhammakaya Movement is the fastest growing Buddhist sect in the world.
But more and more, the Dhammakaya Movement and its Abbot Dhammachayo are rapidly being unraveled as no more than a scam, a huge dirty money laundering scheme . Abbot Dhammachayo even pretends to possess magic powers and the ability to commune to spirits beyond (remember Abbot Dhammacaho saying Steve Jobs has been reincarnated as mid-level)
It now appears that Abbot Dhammachayo’s followers with deep pockets (to the tune of Baht 680 million plus) could get the abbot off the hook on that ongoing criminal multi-billion scandal at a local cooperative.
What’s next for the Abbot Dhammachayo? How about a really big donation drive to buy a US$60 million Gulfstream G650 for Abbot Dhammachayo so he could ‘spread his magic’ around the world (borrowing an brilliant idea from Pastors Creflo, preacher at his Atlanta-area World Changers Church International)?
It is very difficult to understand the “red and yellow” debate as an outsider. And Thailand is still very “clanish” in the sense that e.g. foreigners cannot buy property there nor easily become naturalized. There also seem to be feudal “undertones” to societal issues that no Westerner can truly understand, nor fully appreciate the issues around different shades of skin though most Thais are kind of “of common stock” and no one has an issue such as this in, say, Italy. But the main problem will always be, and the military believe to have to intervene, as long as each new government, once in power, starts doling out tax payer money to its specific constituencies and thus further alienating the “other” side.
If the unelected Good People, through any of the agencies that they control, decide that a politician or political party is acting in a way that threatens national security (i.e. the privileges of the military) or the national interest (i.e. the privileges of the economic and social elite) then a variety of methods are available for getting rid of them. The people will then be allowed to elect another bunch of crooks until they too can be removed from office on some grounds or other
Regardless how you want to label them, they were labeled trafficker since 2005 under the law, and the fact that you are either ignoring the facts that they were caught red handed in the airport or you are part of conspiracy theorists that believed anything Indonesia do is fake. Nevertheless, that was not the real issue in this case and not worth discussing about.
Nor has it been an issue of whether Indonesia or Jokowi being inconsistent or hypocrites. There has been discussion on why the Indonesian government, in particular Jokowi, is refusing or seems to be adamant to pardon these people. My view is, he is trying to :
1. Project himself as strong and firm leader domestically and internationally (KPK vs Police case)
2. Divert attention from domestic issues.
Hence, I do believe that these people are executed more on political reasons rather than domestically reason.
Give Jokowi enough “face” and there will be changes for better. Give Jokowi enough threats and there will be changes for worse, after all this is Bali 9 isn’t it?
What you fail to realize is, what Australia Prime Minister is doing and trying to do is to bully Indonesia to his whim, just like how he kept using Nazi reference etc. The more he belittle Jokowi, the worse the consequence it will be.
To be fair, Indonesia being so stuck-up on executing these people is not a good thing for the country itself, as pointed out by others, that other countries would probably be more ready to execute Indonesia prisoners too.
So in short:
1. Is Jokowi executing these people to show the need of having stricter drug campaign?
A. No of course, first he should probably clean up the corruption in his own party.
2. Why is Jokowi so “stuck-up” on executing these men?
A. Because his image get a real beating over Police vs KPK case, time to show that he is FIRM LEADER! (pfft)
3. Is Australian wrong to negotiate for not executing these 2 men?
A. No of course, but the term is negotiate, not threaten.
4. So what’s the deal about these execution thing?
A. It’s just politics, and these men just happen to be the “fish on chopping board”.
5. Is capital punishment right or wrong?
A. That depends on the government and their citizens whether they supported them, don’t forget the recent botched up execution in US.
6. Is there any chance for these men?
A. I believe so.
And Peter, just to be clear on my stance. I have never liked Jokowi and never will, if you want me to appraise him, I will give him the worse appraisal ever.
And about issue on how Saudi Arabia should execute the worker? Yes, please do so if the law stated it.
There should never be anyone or anything above the law, if you want to change it, change it through the proper channel.
A poor indicator that “communication between opposing groups has not broken down completely” .. Even as Myanmar police were criticised this month for cracking down on protesters, for example, Aung San Suu Kyi had meetings with Myanmar Government leaders.
UMNO and its rabid fascist Malay NGOs are turning Malaysia into an venal Islamic State. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib plays hooky with the nation’s money, making illegal investments, and carousing with repulsive Malaysian Mafioso like Jho Low, the Malaysian Capitalist equivalent of either Korean video-maven Psy (“Gumnum” style) or Kim Jong Un, the Lord of Pyongyang (where Malaysians are free to visit, but not Tel-Aviv). Malaysia brags about its abysmal education system and then introduced a totally useless Shari’a Index, and now non-alcoholic ‘beer’ has become the new stupid debate de jour. Malaysia is embarrassing itself, daily, by its atrocious human rights record, its total disregard for the equitable treatment of non-Muslims in society, and the laughable judicial system, which could be run far better by bonobos or baboons.
This goes WAY beyond Anwar, an irrelevant ex-political celebrity known from KL to Antarctica, unlike the far more serious persecution of Malay writer and intellectual, Dr Kassim Ahmad, who just happened to pretty much predict how the Islamic authorities would behave in Malaysia over the last ten years; and he has been 100 % right. Go figure. If Malaysia wants to be a real laughing stock with blown-up Mongolian models, stupid Hollywood films invested in by UMNO family hacks (What ??? No cracks about Jews owning Hollywood ??? Where’s Mahathir ???), and the debasement of the Malaysian Constitution and everything that “Bapak Merdeka”, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, wanted for his nation, please go right ahead. Hey, look at it this way, Indonesia has turned out to be a bust too.
Over at East Asia Forum, CSIS – a very good friend of the Barisan Nasional in Washington DC – has correctly assessed that the US is unlikely to rock its excellent relationship with Prime Minister Najib Razak for some higher order cause.
Improving the policing technique to increase the legitimacy of crack down.
The over all freedom afforded to ALL citizenry hopefully will not be prematurely truncated by this incidence. Hopefully the politicians @ Hluttthaw will take this opportunity to the citizenry advantage.
Until the rural community the 2/3 of citizenry experience the freedom of Economic well being , Heath Care and Education, in that order respectively, the adage of EInstein need to be kept in mind.
With respect to Wat Dhammakay and Mr. Nostitz’s observation about the profusion of colors that float in its history, from the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Dhammakaya):
The foundation stone for the main chapel was laid by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on behalf of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in December 1977.
A time when it perhaps appeared a good thing that this new take on Buddhism was attractive to university students and young people, as it apparently was — see Justin McDaniel’s article in Buddhism in World Culture, Stephen Berkwitz, editor.
Plausible deniability finally arrives to Burma. It’s the police, it’s the local minister, it’s the frontline troops, every scapegoat you can think of but us.
Even as Myanmar police were criticised this month for cracking down on protesters, for example, Aung San Suu Kyi had meetings with Myanmar Government leaders.
That’s all that matters. The Lady and the generals, they are talking, aren’t they? With the KIA jaw jaw plus war war. We can do business with them so carry on. What’s a little local difficulty, eh?
The good cop bad cop show has a lot of mileage still left in it. Bloody marvellous, innit?
Marvellous, innit? Mob rule official style from Depayin 2003 to Sule 2015 this time wearing “official” armbands. No tin star, no uniform. At least the fascists were uniformed.
It’s the Mob that still rules Burma though some people remain in denial. Some both inside and outside the country of course stand to gain from the opening market regardless. What’s the big deal with a little local difficulty like civil wars, violation of human rights and periodic crackdowns, eh? Look no farther than China next door. Business must go on.
The clear message from the ruling Mob is we know what’s good for you, so know your place, do as you are told, and don’t rock the boat. Here’s my RoL says the sheriff. It’s my town, my law, I have my deputies, I have my posse, so there.
Thanks for a rare balanced view that at least endeavours to be objective. I have lived in Myanmar for the last months and share the viewpoint. There is much to do in Myanmar, not only in the field of democracy in the widest sense, but also in bureaucracy and education. But looking at some other countries in SEA we could name, Myanmar is not doing so badly at all.
The steps forward must be determined and purposeful to benefit all citizenry with an overall forward gain.
As it was the pure legitimate demand by students at first is distorted/hijacked by elements planted and anarchistic components within, the former straight from BSPP play book, the latter same old useless careless way of the past were bound to be cracked down.
Be angry, mean while let up not bet all gain to this one bet. Especially knowing for better or worst the players all cheat and bluff.
As for the ilk of ardent education, health care and economic proponents this is just another example of relying on the ‘western press’ to show ridiculously undisciplined the mob is.
In the new “democratic Myanmar” it’s not “white man speak with fork tongue”, it’s the government. Deception and treachery is their specialty. Remember the psy-ops guy?
You’ve been harping on about education and the citizenry all these years. Perhaps you don’t really mean a modern democratic education or students, farmers and workers, only paternalistic top down centralised diktats imposed upon the undisciplined swinish multitude.
I’m almost certain you’re old enough to remember the promise of jam tomorrow started in 1962 by the same people. Remember what they said and keep saying? You cannot expect clear water right after the well is dug. Where’s the bloody well?!
This demonstration have set back the true course of education in Myanmar which no one at NM has the gall to mention.
This blame DASSK for everything, post SPDC need to realize that:
1) This lady ‘soldiering on’ itself is a testimonial to her ‘Living without fear’.
2) this particular episode is bound for this ‘eventual ending’ from the very start.
First with the government defining the acts of demonstration from the very start, accepting the complaints/objection of the students rep. to be considered by Hlutthaw.
Second followed by ‘infiltration’ of none student agitators.
Third with plenty of warning where the end is headed.
It is surprising to see the demonstration ending in “apparent government restraint” herald by governmental controlled news agencies compared to previous rounds.
3) DASSK is but one politician, moving ahead to secure her possible future to influence and a legacy for ROL .
4)Other than used by other for financial gain as opposed to making a difference for the whole citizenry through ROL.
Blaming DASSK in anyway tantamount to blaming the victim.
Irony of ironies, she has by far a much better chance of becoming president riding the crest of yet another wave of popular uprising than the way things are at this juncture in time.
Some of us NM regulars would remember this post in 2007 – Nich Farrelly’s interview of Prof Michael Aung-Thwin. My take at the time was in sharp contrast to his sister Maureen this junta apologist of an expat academic was indulging in an ad hominem attack on the Lady as he had done back in 1995. That I have had to revise.
It isn’t the first time she’s let the students down as the 88 generation leaders can testify. She was divisive then. She is divisive now, completely focused on contesting the elections even without a change in the constitution which means there is not a hope in hell she will be H E Mrs President at the age of seventy.
But you’d be wrong if you think she won’t take advantage of another popular uprising that overthrows the regime as it did in 1988 before it ended in defeat thanks to her divisive influence. A late NLD insider narrated to me how the students pleaded on their knees with her to form an interim government with U Nu in order to clinch a decisive victory. This she rejected out of hand (p13) in September 1988.
So now after an entire lifetime of one of the young student leaders now in detention Phyo Phyo Aung, and she herself in her dotage, will she ever learn from history, from her own mistakes? Is her own exalted place in history more important than the plight of ordinary folk who to her are being a damned nuisance waging a popular struggle and simply getting in her way?
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Thailand’s Prayuth: Not just another coup-maker
BeerSing would do well to acknowledge that this comment is plagiarized verbatim from http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/4878.
Unless, of course, Beersing is actually Harrison George.
Bangkok’s last Red Shirt fortress
You are right, chalee. Some religious sects are bigger scams than others, and this is a big one.
Bangkok’s last Red Shirt fortress
“The Dhammakaya Movement claims some 10 million followers around the world.” That’s amazing … and what’s more, the Dhammakaya Movement is the fastest growing Buddhist sect in the world.
But more and more, the Dhammakaya Movement and its Abbot Dhammachayo are rapidly being unraveled as no more than a scam, a huge dirty money laundering scheme . Abbot Dhammachayo even pretends to possess magic powers and the ability to commune to spirits beyond (remember Abbot Dhammacaho saying Steve Jobs has been reincarnated as mid-level)
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/491182/armed-with-magic-a-monk-eyes-true-power
http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/thailand-buddhist-temple-dhammakaya-sci-fi-in-bangkok#.VQuZuNKUePZ
It now appears that Abbot Dhammachayo’s followers with deep pockets (to the tune of Baht 680 million plus) could get the abbot off the hook on that ongoing criminal multi-billion scandal at a local cooperative.
http://news.thaivisa.com/thailand/compromise-agreement-worked-out-between-wat-dhammakaya-and-klongchan-credit-union/39498/
What’s next for the Abbot Dhammachayo? How about a really big donation drive to buy a US$60 million Gulfstream G650 for Abbot Dhammachayo so he could ‘spread his magic’ around the world (borrowing an brilliant idea from Pastors Creflo, preacher at his Atlanta-area World Changers Church International)?
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/13/living/creflo-dollar-jet-feat/index.html
Dissent and repression persist in Myanmar
Did I miss it, or is there no mention of Thein Sein?
V-Day resistance to the junta’s coercive regime
It is very difficult to understand the “red and yellow” debate as an outsider. And Thailand is still very “clanish” in the sense that e.g. foreigners cannot buy property there nor easily become naturalized. There also seem to be feudal “undertones” to societal issues that no Westerner can truly understand, nor fully appreciate the issues around different shades of skin though most Thais are kind of “of common stock” and no one has an issue such as this in, say, Italy. But the main problem will always be, and the military believe to have to intervene, as long as each new government, once in power, starts doling out tax payer money to its specific constituencies and thus further alienating the “other” side.
Thailand’s Prayuth: Not just another coup-maker
If the unelected Good People, through any of the agencies that they control, decide that a politician or political party is acting in a way that threatens national security (i.e. the privileges of the military) or the national interest (i.e. the privileges of the economic and social elite) then a variety of methods are available for getting rid of them. The people will then be allowed to elect another bunch of crooks until they too can be removed from office on some grounds or other
Review of Drug Law Reform
Regardless how you want to label them, they were labeled trafficker since 2005 under the law, and the fact that you are either ignoring the facts that they were caught red handed in the airport or you are part of conspiracy theorists that believed anything Indonesia do is fake. Nevertheless, that was not the real issue in this case and not worth discussing about.
Nor has it been an issue of whether Indonesia or Jokowi being inconsistent or hypocrites. There has been discussion on why the Indonesian government, in particular Jokowi, is refusing or seems to be adamant to pardon these people. My view is, he is trying to :
1. Project himself as strong and firm leader domestically and internationally (KPK vs Police case)
2. Divert attention from domestic issues.
Hence, I do believe that these people are executed more on political reasons rather than domestically reason.
Give Jokowi enough “face” and there will be changes for better. Give Jokowi enough threats and there will be changes for worse, after all this is Bali 9 isn’t it?
What you fail to realize is, what Australia Prime Minister is doing and trying to do is to bully Indonesia to his whim, just like how he kept using Nazi reference etc. The more he belittle Jokowi, the worse the consequence it will be.
To be fair, Indonesia being so stuck-up on executing these people is not a good thing for the country itself, as pointed out by others, that other countries would probably be more ready to execute Indonesia prisoners too.
So in short:
1. Is Jokowi executing these people to show the need of having stricter drug campaign?
A. No of course, first he should probably clean up the corruption in his own party.
2. Why is Jokowi so “stuck-up” on executing these men?
A. Because his image get a real beating over Police vs KPK case, time to show that he is FIRM LEADER! (pfft)
3. Is Australian wrong to negotiate for not executing these 2 men?
A. No of course, but the term is negotiate, not threaten.
4. So what’s the deal about these execution thing?
A. It’s just politics, and these men just happen to be the “fish on chopping board”.
5. Is capital punishment right or wrong?
A. That depends on the government and their citizens whether they supported them, don’t forget the recent botched up execution in US.
6. Is there any chance for these men?
A. I believe so.
And Peter, just to be clear on my stance. I have never liked Jokowi and never will, if you want me to appraise him, I will give him the worse appraisal ever.
And about issue on how Saudi Arabia should execute the worker? Yes, please do so if the law stated it.
There should never be anyone or anything above the law, if you want to change it, change it through the proper channel.
Dissent and repression persist in Myanmar
A poor indicator that “communication between opposing groups has not broken down completely” .. Even as Myanmar police were criticised this month for cracking down on protesters, for example, Aung San Suu Kyi had meetings with Myanmar Government leaders.
Anwar Ibrahim’s incarceration and its implications
UMNO and its rabid fascist Malay NGOs are turning Malaysia into an venal Islamic State. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib plays hooky with the nation’s money, making illegal investments, and carousing with repulsive Malaysian Mafioso like Jho Low, the Malaysian Capitalist equivalent of either Korean video-maven Psy (“Gumnum” style) or Kim Jong Un, the Lord of Pyongyang (where Malaysians are free to visit, but not Tel-Aviv). Malaysia brags about its abysmal education system and then introduced a totally useless Shari’a Index, and now non-alcoholic ‘beer’ has become the new stupid debate de jour. Malaysia is embarrassing itself, daily, by its atrocious human rights record, its total disregard for the equitable treatment of non-Muslims in society, and the laughable judicial system, which could be run far better by bonobos or baboons.
This goes WAY beyond Anwar, an irrelevant ex-political celebrity known from KL to Antarctica, unlike the far more serious persecution of Malay writer and intellectual, Dr Kassim Ahmad, who just happened to pretty much predict how the Islamic authorities would behave in Malaysia over the last ten years; and he has been 100 % right. Go figure. If Malaysia wants to be a real laughing stock with blown-up Mongolian models, stupid Hollywood films invested in by UMNO family hacks (What ??? No cracks about Jews owning Hollywood ??? Where’s Mahathir ???), and the debasement of the Malaysian Constitution and everything that “Bapak Merdeka”, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, wanted for his nation, please go right ahead. Hey, look at it this way, Indonesia has turned out to be a bust too.
Anwar Ibrahim’s incarceration and its implications
Over at East Asia Forum, CSIS – a very good friend of the Barisan Nasional in Washington DC – has correctly assessed that the US is unlikely to rock its excellent relationship with Prime Minister Najib Razak for some higher order cause.
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2015/03/17/how-will-the-jailing-of-anwar-ibrahim-impact-malaysias-foreign-relations/
Dissent and repression persist in Myanmar
As usual Mr Wilson comes with an objective view of ongoing event that is base on History, Culture and Politics of Myanmar.
Insanity: “Doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result” Einstein.
Even the government realize the adage above
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=689625684483979
Improving the policing technique to increase the legitimacy of crack down.
The over all freedom afforded to ALL citizenry hopefully will not be prematurely truncated by this incidence. Hopefully the politicians @ Hluttthaw will take this opportunity to the citizenry advantage.
Until the rural community the 2/3 of citizenry experience the freedom of Economic well being , Heath Care and Education, in that order respectively, the adage of EInstein need to be kept in mind.
Bangkok’s last Red Shirt fortress
With respect to Wat Dhammakay and Mr. Nostitz’s observation about the profusion of colors that float in its history, from the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Dhammakaya):
The foundation stone for the main chapel was laid by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on behalf of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in December 1977.
A time when it perhaps appeared a good thing that this new take on Buddhism was attractive to university students and young people, as it apparently was — see Justin McDaniel’s article in Buddhism in World Culture, Stephen Berkwitz, editor.
Dissent and repression persist in Myanmar
Plausible deniability finally arrives to Burma. It’s the police, it’s the local minister, it’s the frontline troops, every scapegoat you can think of but us.
Even as Myanmar police were criticised this month for cracking down on protesters, for example, Aung San Suu Kyi had meetings with Myanmar Government leaders.
That’s all that matters. The Lady and the generals, they are talking, aren’t they? With the KIA jaw jaw plus war war. We can do business with them so carry on. What’s a little local difficulty, eh?
The good cop bad cop show has a lot of mileage still left in it. Bloody marvellous, innit?
Discipline and duty
Marvellous, innit? Mob rule official style from Depayin 2003 to Sule 2015 this time wearing “official” armbands. No tin star, no uniform. At least the fascists were uniformed.
It’s the Mob that still rules Burma though some people remain in denial. Some both inside and outside the country of course stand to gain from the opening market regardless. What’s the big deal with a little local difficulty like civil wars, violation of human rights and periodic crackdowns, eh? Look no farther than China next door. Business must go on.
The clear message from the ruling Mob is we know what’s good for you, so know your place, do as you are told, and don’t rock the boat. Here’s my RoL says the sheriff. It’s my town, my law, I have my deputies, I have my posse, so there.
Dissent and repression persist in Myanmar
Thanks for a rare balanced view that at least endeavours to be objective. I have lived in Myanmar for the last months and share the viewpoint. There is much to do in Myanmar, not only in the field of democracy in the widest sense, but also in bureaucracy and education. But looking at some other countries in SEA we could name, Myanmar is not doing so badly at all.
Discipline and duty
Ko Moe Aung
2 steps forward is better than 1 step forward.
The steps forward must be determined and purposeful to benefit all citizenry with an overall forward gain.
As it was the pure legitimate demand by students at first is distorted/hijacked by elements planted and anarchistic components within, the former straight from BSPP play book, the latter same old useless careless way of the past were bound to be cracked down.
Be angry, mean while let up not bet all gain to this one bet. Especially knowing for better or worst the players all cheat and bluff.
As for the ilk of ardent education, health care and economic proponents this is just another example of relying on the ‘western press’ to show ridiculously undisciplined the mob is.
Discipline and duty
The Lady doth protest too little too late.
Their RoL… LOL!
In the new “democratic Myanmar” it’s not “white man speak with fork tongue”, it’s the government. Deception and treachery is their specialty. Remember the psy-ops guy?
You’ve been harping on about education and the citizenry all these years. Perhaps you don’t really mean a modern democratic education or students, farmers and workers, only paternalistic top down centralised diktats imposed upon the undisciplined swinish multitude.
I’m almost certain you’re old enough to remember the promise of jam tomorrow started in 1962 by the same people. Remember what they said and keep saying? You cannot expect clear water right after the well is dug. Where’s the bloody well?!
Discipline and duty
This demonstration have set back the true course of education in Myanmar which no one at NM has the gall to mention.
This blame DASSK for everything, post SPDC need to realize that:
1) This lady ‘soldiering on’ itself is a testimonial to her ‘Living without fear’.
2) this particular episode is bound for this ‘eventual ending’ from the very start.
First with the government defining the acts of demonstration from the very start, accepting the complaints/objection of the students rep. to be considered by Hlutthaw.
Second followed by ‘infiltration’ of none student agitators.
Third with plenty of warning where the end is headed.
It is surprising to see the demonstration ending in “apparent government restraint” herald by governmental controlled news agencies compared to previous rounds.
3) DASSK is but one politician, moving ahead to secure her possible future to influence and a legacy for ROL .
4)Other than used by other for financial gain as opposed to making a difference for the whole citizenry through ROL.
Blaming DASSK in anyway tantamount to blaming the victim.
Discipline and duty
Irony of ironies, she has by far a much better chance of becoming president riding the crest of yet another wave of popular uprising than the way things are at this juncture in time.
Discipline and duty
Some of us NM regulars would remember this post in 2007 – Nich Farrelly’s interview of Prof Michael Aung-Thwin. My take at the time was in sharp contrast to his sister Maureen this junta apologist of an expat academic was indulging in an ad hominem attack on the Lady as he had done back in 1995. That I have had to revise.
It isn’t the first time she’s let the students down as the 88 generation leaders can testify. She was divisive then. She is divisive now, completely focused on contesting the elections even without a change in the constitution which means there is not a hope in hell she will be H E Mrs President at the age of seventy.
But you’d be wrong if you think she won’t take advantage of another popular uprising that overthrows the regime as it did in 1988 before it ended in defeat thanks to her divisive influence. A late NLD insider narrated to me how the students pleaded on their knees with her to form an interim government with U Nu in order to clinch a decisive victory. This she rejected out of hand (p13) in September 1988.
So now after an entire lifetime of one of the young student leaders now in detention Phyo Phyo Aung, and she herself in her dotage, will she ever learn from history, from her own mistakes? Is her own exalted place in history more important than the plight of ordinary folk who to her are being a damned nuisance waging a popular struggle and simply getting in her way?