Burma media council formed without professional input: journalists’ groups
Tuesday, 14 August 2012 13:32
Mizzima News
Widespread criticism and disappointment greeted the Burmese
government’s formation of the Myanmar Core Press Council (MCPC), which
was announced in state-run media on Friday.
Newspapers on sale at a vendor's stall in Rangoon Photo: Mizzima
Critics
faulted the government for forming the council without the input of
professional journalists' groups, which had consistently asked for a
role in the formation of the state-appointed body.
The government
announced a 20-member core press council that it said was charged with
protecting media workers, establishing ethics and settling press
disputes.
“I don’t think the council will guarantee freedom of press,’’ a veteran journalist said, according to an article in Eleven Media Group (EMG) on Monday.
Comments by EMG
and other journalists do not bode well for the government’s
announcement that it is rewriting the media laws of the country and will
submit the new law to Parliament during the current session, which ends
in August.
“Some members of the council have records of breaching journalism ethics,” said an EMG
editor. “So how could they work for journalism ethics? And some are
publishers so there will be conflicts of interest in the future.”
Last week, Mizzima reported on a Burmese journalists’ walking demonstration in Rangoon in support of freedom of speech and the press.
Wearing
black T-shirts with the message “Stop Killing Press,” nearly 100
journalists demonstrated as the government prepared a new media law to
be presented to Parliament without the joint cooperation of major
journalists' groups and leaders.
A petition by the newly formed
Press Freedom Committee called for an end to all “oppressive” media
laws, and the promotion of free speech and a free press in Burma. News
media in Burma is still subject to prior-censorship laws, which require
new media to pass all stories through government censors prior to
publication.
Former Thai Leader's US Visit Renews Calls for Justice
Members
of Nation Associate Anti-Corruption Network rally against former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to America outside the U.S. embassy
in Bangkok, August 10, 2012.
Daniel Schearf
August 14, 2012
BANGKOK — Former
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been visiting the United
States on his first trip to the country since he was ousted in a coup in
2006.
His opponents have been demanding Washington revoke his visa and
extradite the former leader to Thailand, where he faces jail time for
conflict of interest charges from his time as leader.
The opposition Democrats have urged the Thai government to push the
United States, a close ally of Thailand, for his arrest and extradition.
On Friday, a group of about 200 protesters gathered outside the U.S.
Embassy in Bangkok making the same demand.
The demonstrators held banners and signs reading “Ugly American” and “What Rule of Law?”
Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, secretary of a group calling itself the
Nation Associate Anti-Corruption Network, says in two weeks they will be
back for answers. And he added they are calling on the United States to
revoke Thaksin's visa immediately.
Walter Braunohler, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Bangkok, says they
welcome Thai people’s right to protest peacefully. But, as a policy,
they cannot discuss individual visa cases.
“I can’t talk about the specifics of any one case, but I can say that
the issuance of a U.S. visa does not imply any position on Thailand’s
internal matters,” Braunohler said.
Thaksin last visited the United States in 2006 as prime minister. But, in his absence, the military ousted him in a coup.
His detractors, the royalist Yellow Shirts, say Thaksin was corrupt and
power hungry. His supporters, known as the Red Shirts, say Bangkok
elites viewed his growing popularity among the rural masses as a threat
to their power.
In 2010, the Red Shirts occupied parts of Bangkok demanding new
elections. Clashes with the military left 90 people dead. Elections last
year put in office Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Critics say her brother is really in charge, while she says Thaksin is just an advisor.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee says the government has no plans to seek Thaksin’s extradition.
“His trip to the United States is a private visit. And, we were never,
the Thai government was never informed, nor were we aware of his
program. As for his travels abroad, the Thai government, we don’t have a
policy of restricting his traveling abroad.”
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ruling Pheu Thai party has been
pushing for laws they say would help reconcile Thailand’s political
divisions. Opponents say they are designed to grant amnesty to Thaksin
so he could return to Thai politics.
The former leader's one week visit included stops in New York and
California, among others. He was greeted by both Red Shirt supporters
and Yellow Shirt opponents.
In Los Angeles, Thai media report, anti-Thaksin protesters blocked his route preventing him from giving a speech to supporters.
วันจันทร์ที่ 13 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2555
Three new wharfs planned for Ahlone Port
Friday, 10 August 2012 12:52
Theingi Tun
Rangoon (Mizzima)
– The Ahlone Dockyard Port will significantly expand with the
construction of three new wharfs valued at more than US$ 110 million.
A section of Dalah port, Rangoon, Burma. Photo: Nay Lin Aung / Mizzima
Transport Minister Nyan Tun Aung said the work will be done in
cooperation with Myanmar Annawar Swan Ah Shin Groups Company Limited, in
a signing ceremony at Sedona Hotel in Rangoon.
Ko Ko Htoo, the
managing director of the Myanmar Annawar Swan Ah Shin Groups Company
Limited, said the three wharfs are designed to serve six [3,500-ton]
vessels in simultaneous berths at the port, representing a total storage
capacity of about 320,000 containers.
According to the Inland Water Transport website, the facility can now accommodate 16 vessels.
Earlier,
the company built wharfs in the port facility, and it will operate the
expanded facility under a long-term lease agreement, said Cho Than
Maung, the managing director of Myanma Port Authority.
Transport
Minister Nyan Tun Aung said in the signing ceremony that permitting
private companies to run such facilities encourages private businesses
and it is in line with other Asean countries’ economies.
Rangoon now has 18 wharfs, he said, and 14 more wharfs will be built.
Authorities are also planning new wharfs for the Thilawa Port in Thanlyin Township.
HANOI : A Thai diplomat in Vietnam has warned
Thais not to attempt to smuggle drugs into the communist nation as
traffickers face execution if they are caught.
Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, immediately after her death sentence was
passed by a court in Ho Chi Minh City, and her old photo from MySpace.
(Main photo from Sports & Culture newspaper, Hanoi)
Charge d'affaires Boonrong Pongstiensak said Vietnam's anti-drug laws
are among the world's harshest, and that many foreign prisoners are
currently on death row in Vietnam, mostly on drug trafficking
convictions.
"Even Vietnamese drug convicts face execution," he said.
Mr Boonrong told the Bangkok Post that the Thai embassy in Vietnam is
working to help Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, 23, a Thai college student
from Bangkok who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking by Ho Chi
Minh City court in June this year.
Preeyanooch was arrested for trafficking three kilogrammes of
methamphetamine pills from Nigeria's Benin city into Vietnam through
Saigon airport last October.
She was arrested after the drugs were found in a false bottom of her suitcase.
Police at Ho Chi Minh airport took this photo of Preeyanooch the day she was arrested last October for smuggling 3kg of drugs.
She told the court she was paid about US$1,570 (about 50,000 baht) by a Nigerian trafficking ring to smuggle the drugs.
Mr Boonrong said Preeyanooch had appealed for a reduced sentence on the advice of the Thai embassy in Vietnam.
He said the embassy was waiting for the Vietnamese president's
decision on whether to reduce her death sentence to life imprisonment.
But Mr Boonrong said a reduced sentence would be difficult to obtain
as drug trafficking is considered a most serious offence in Vietnam.
Mr Boonrong said four other Thais arrested for drugs trafficking are
now being detained in prisons in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
They are awaiting trial, having been charged with smuggling methamphetamine pills into Vietnam.
Mr Boonrong did not give further details about these four suspects.
He said the embassy in Hanoi is waiting for a response to a letter it
sent to Vietnamese authorities asking them to allow Thai officials to
visit the suspects.
He said visiting Thai inmates in Vietnam was difficult as it took a long time to obtain the necessary permission.
Mr Boonrong said he had received information that many Thai women are
being deceived into trafficking drugs by international drugs gangs.
Permpong Chavalit, deputy secretary-general of the Office of the
Narcotics Control Board, said the Foreign Ministry recently reported
that about 100 Thai women are currently being detained for drug
trafficking in several countries, including China, India, United Arab
Emirates, Spain, Brazil and South Africa.
Some of them had married citizens of African countries and were
forced to become involved in the trans-national drug trade, while others
were willing to act as drug couriers due to the high pay, he said.
He said African drug syndicates are using Thailand as their base, and
that African gangsters used different tactics to dupe Thai women into
the drug trade.
Mr Permpong warned Thai women to stay away from African men to save
themselves from being tricked into becoming a part of the drug networks.
วันอาทิตย์ที่ 12 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2555
As Rangoon Races Forward, a Push to Preserve Its Architectural Past
Unbridled development could hasten the destruction the city's remarkable, colonial-era structures.
The turquoise building in the background was built circa 1900 to house the Currency Department. Today it houses a city court
The
neoclassical complex known as Sofaer’s Buildings was designed by a
Baghdad-born Jewish trader and once housed a Reuters Telegram office and
stores selling Egyptian cigarettes, German beer and English candies.
Sofaer’s was constructed in central Rangoon in the early 1900s and in
its first decades it served the international population that controlled
the upper echelons of British-controlled Burma’s
social, political and economic life. Like hundreds of its architectural
contemporaries in the Southeast Asian country, Sofaer’s owes its
provenance to the British invasion, in 1852, of what was then a fishing
village. The British destroyed the community and remade it along a grid
oriented around the waterfront to create a new outpost for the empire.
A Burma Buddhist monk walks by the City Hall in downtown Yangon on August 13, 2010
(PHOTOS:The 11 Most Endangered Historic Places)
Today, the cream-yellow paint of Sofaer’s exterior is faded, peeling
and in some sections entirely ensconced in soot and mildew. Its
best-preserved section is occupied by an art gallery and government
office, but the bulk of it houses a budget guesthouse, photocopy shops, a
hodgepodge of vendors, or is vacant. Decades of economic stasis has
helped preserve the core of what is today the largest collection of late
19th century and early 20th century urban architecture anywhere in Southeast Asia. The reopening of Rangoon promises much-needed renewal but, conservationists worry, could hasten the destruction these remarkable structures
In 1948, shortly after the Second World War, the British Empire
relinquished control of Burma. Promising stability and playing to Burman
nationalism, a group of hardline generals took power in a coup in 1962
and nationalized the economy, expelling foreign companies (and most
foreigners) in the process. Burma, also known as Myanmar,
has since become the second-poorest country in Asia. In Rangoon, which
today is still Burma’s largest city and commercial center, roving
blackouts remain routine, sewers are exposed and potholes pepper the
roads. Aging buildings that might have been demolished in other cities
in favor of high-rises or malls have remained as they were.
A little over a year ago, the junta handed power over to a
semi-civilian government, which over the past year has enacted a
sweeping series of reforms: releasing hundreds of political prisoners of
conscience and easing draconian restrictions on political association,
civil society and the press. The Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
who spent much of the last 20 years under house arrest, is now a member
of parliament. Western countries have, in return, suspended their
sanctions, re-opening Burma to international investors. The country is
being trumpeted in business circles as one of the world’s last virgin
markets, with vast stores of natural resources still ripe for the
taking.
AP
Electric
fans rotate above rattan chairs surrounding tables at the cozy coffee
shop of Strand Hotel, July 22, 2008 in Yangon City's port area in
Myanmar
To date, the only successful large-scale renovation of a colonial-era
structure is the riverfront Strand Hotel: it was one of Asia’s most
luxurious hotels when it was built in 1901 and after extensive
rehabilitation in the early 90s has regained that stature, and despite
lofty rates is popular again with well-heeled travelers precisely
because it was authentically restored.
Many investors, Burmese and foreign, value the real estate of
colonial-era buildings for their prime downtown locations and view the
low-lying structures as an impediment to their plans for soaring
apartment blocks and office towers, says Sun Oo, vice-chairman of the
Architects Association of Myanmar. He worries some investors with “a
very thick book of project proposals” will sway government officials to
grant them demolition licenses. “I feel we are a few steps behind the
developers.”
(PHOTOS:The 2012 World Monuments Fund Watch List)
To counter the risk of unbridled development, a band of historians,
business representatives and architects, Sun Oo included, recently
formed the Yangon Heritage Trust, a non-profit group to lobby and
propose plans for preserving the traditional cityscape of Rangoon’s
oldest districts. “We have this very unique situation where in one
square mile in downtown Yangon we have both an Anglican cathedral and a
Roman Catholic cathedral, two pagodas, seven mosques (Sunni and Shia), a
Jewish synagogue, seven Hindu temples, Sikh, Parsi and Jain temples,
and an Armenian church,” says the Heritage Trust’s founder, Thant
Myint-U, a prominent historian and author. “And I think even in New York
or London you’d be hard-pressed to find a square mile with that
diversity of faiths represented.”
Kyaw Latt, a former architect who now serves as an advisor to
Rangoon’s city council, says the recent efforts of conservationists have
made an impact. “The city council is now conscious [of] the fact that
we should preserve our city.” He acknowledges, however, that there are
still few safeguards in place: most conspicuously, zoning laws are
non-existent. And though 189 buildings are listed by the city council as
heritage sites, hundreds more impressive structures from the same era
remain without any official recognition.
Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty Images
People cross a road in front of the 1905-built Myanmar Port Authority building in downtown Yangon on Jun. 7, 2012
There is also the issue of popular support for saving these
structures. If in colonial times Rangoon stood as an expression, in the
mind of the British, of the empire’s order and prosperity, most Burmese
experienced the city as second-class citizens. “All gentlemen interested
in general society are eligible,” stated the membership rules of the
Pegu Club, constructed in 1882, mostly of teak. It was a given, though,
by the standards of the social club’s gin-drinking British board
members, that Burmese were not welcome. The architect Sun Oo, now 57,
recalls that during the early years of military rule, the junta would
deride relics of the colonial era by invoking the indignity of being
looked down upon by foreign rulers.
But, regardless of their origins and original exclusions, says Thant
Myint-U, “these are buildings that have spent most of their lifetimes in
independent Burmese times. These are buildings where maybe one initial
use was as a [foreign-owned and patronized] company in British times but
since have gone through many incarnations and been the offices of many
famous Burmese people.” Perhaps no building better embodies this
shifting historical tenure from British to Burmese than the Secretariat.
The sprawling Victorian complex was initially the seat of the British
colonial government but it became a centerpiece of Burmese independence:
it’s where independence leader General Aung San was assassinated in
1947 and subsequently the administrative center of the new government. A
proposal earlier this year to convert the now-vacant Secretariat into a
hotel ignited a public outcry. The people of Rangoon, says Thant
Myint-U, were saying the building was theirs.
Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, Pan Guangxue, with Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photograph: Vireak Mai/ Phnom Penh Post
Chinese firms have huge ambitions for Cambodia, with a second firm this
week proposing three projects worth an estimated US$6.5 billion to the National Assembly yesterday, but no deadlines were set for the implementation of the projects, according to officials.
Pan
Xiaoping, chairman of Ruijin Investment Holding Ltd, based in the
Chinese province of Hainan, yesterday met with the president of the
National Assembly, Heng Samrin, to seek the support for his company’s
investment projects, said Kaom Kosal, cabinet director for the National
Assembly.
The announcement comes after Shangdong Shuitai, a major
farm machinery manufacturer from China, spoke with the National
Assembly on Monday about investing in the Kingdom’s agriculture sector.
Earlier
this year Chinese food company Hainan Agpro Inc announced its
intentions to spend $500 million in Cambodia’s agriculture, it was
reported.
“They (Ruijin Investment Holding Ltd) came with the
intention to invest in Cambodia in three sectors – agriculture, tourism
and infrastructure,” Koam said.
The first project is a rice
plantation worth approximately $400 million; the second is a tourism
investment project called Sihanouk-Hainan City, a resort and associated
infrastructure worth a reported $5.8 billion; and the third project is
focused on animal husbandry, namely cows, and is worth an estimated $300
million.
All three projects would last 10 years, he said, and
come on the heels of China and Cambodia signing a $2.5 billion bilateral
trade deal at the end of 2011 that aims to reach $7 billion by 2015,
according to the Chinese Embassy.
Koam reported that at the
meeting Pan Xiaoping described Ruijin’s plans to open an office in
Cambodia with the cooperation of RAT Sokhorn Inc Co Ltd.
In an
effort to avoid land disputes the development of Sihanouk-Hainan City
would only be done on land specifically purchased for the project, Koam
said, but did not elaborate on what guarantees this would bring.
Chea
Chantevy, assistant to Rat Sokhorn, president of Rat Sokhorn
Incorporation Co said it was too early to reveal the details of the
projects as it was only the first meeting between both companies and
Cambodian government officials.
“We cannot disclose the project
details right now, but Rat Sokhorn is working in conjunction with Ruijin
Investment in order to invest in the agriculture and tourism sectors,”
she said.
Agpro plans to conduct feasibility studies in a number
of provinces, including Koh Kong and Preak Vihear, with the $500
million investment spread out over 10 years, while Shangtui aims to
invest in rice and rubber plantations.
Ruijin Investment Holding
Ltd has a sparse web presence in Chinese-language media, though Xinhua,
the Chinese news organ, has reported on the meeting as well.
Traditional Khmer instrumentalists. Photograph: Ven Sakol/ Phnom Penh Post
Traditional Khmer music is very special to the Khmer heritage, used
both for entertainment and in traditional ceremonies. Some say it is as
valuable as Angkor Wat.
For many centuries, Cambodia has been
admired for the creativity of its Khmer ancestors. But despite the
interest from abroad, the popularity of Khmer traditional music has
declined sharply amongst youth in the country.
Nhuk Sinat is a
Khmer traditional music teacher at Khmer Amatak association and Asia
Organization. He said: “The value of our traditional music is comparable
to Angkor Wat. It is our national heritage.”
Some students are
still very proud of the music. Chheang Phirom, 22, a drama student at
the Royal University of Fine Arts is one. He said he would love to learn
to play Khmer music. “First, I thought it was something that I was made
to do. But now, I know that I love Khmer traditional music and want to
preserve it.”
But despite the willingness of students like
Chheang, many young people are less interested. Low pay and lack of jobs
discourages people from learning while people who play very well often
become buskers in the city. Mr Oun has been a Khmer music player at
wedding ceremonies for more than 20 years said he would not teach his
children.
Some blame the drive to modernisation in the country
for indifference towards the music. Yun Theara, deputy director general
at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said: “Youth are willing to get
something and to be modern, and we cannot blame them.”
A growing
number of Cambodian young people can watch Western or Korean hip hop,
films and music on television but there are very few programs that show
our traditional music.
But we as Khmers have a responsibility to
save our heritage. Without the Khmer traditional music, our society
will lose a national symbol, and much more besides. So what can we do to
preserve it?
Yun Thean believes that the merging of ASEAN
countries over the next few years means it is important to gather and
record tradition.
He said: “In 2015, ASEAN countries will merge
their culture. That is why we are first gathering and recording our
traditional songs to document them. Secondly, we will focus on the media
to reach schools and organisations.”
“Although youngsters
nowadays do not know how to play the instrument, of they want to learn
in their old age, they still can learn as long as we have the records.”
According
to Thong Keo Bunnate, planning officer at Phnom Penh Municipal
Department of Education, Youth and Sports, there is a school for
learning Khmer traditional musical instrument for those who are willing
to learn: the Royal University of Fine Arts. Schools that are under the
Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports also have the subject in Art
Class but students can only learn the theory, rather than the practice.
Recognising
the problem, the Westline School is preparing to add a new subject
about Khmer traditional musical instruments into the school curriculums.
Pech Bolene, president of both the Westline School and the
Northline School said: “We are going to have this new art class because
our traditional songs are melodious and full of meaning, which is so
interesting. That is why we want the new generation to know, learn, and
preserve our traditional musical instrument.”
Some musicians
also create new songs by mixing both modern and traditional musical
instruments. Pagodas also play a role in preserving our traditional
instruments.
For example, Teacher Sinat had a chance to study in
Phnom Penh because of Reachbo Pagoda that taught him to play musical
instruments from an early age. We, as Khmer, have to preserve our
traditional musical instruments or to raise awareness of their
importance so that we do not lose our precious heritage.
The
new three-wheeled tuk-tuks, which come from India, are made in
factories and equipped with fire extinguishers and come in yellow,
black and green. Photograph: Roth Meas/Phnom Penh Post
Smaller, faster and made in India – meet the new-look that has hit the
streets of Phnom Penh. A group of the dark green, yellow or black and
three-wheeled tuk-tuks is on the roads in the city on a mission to
convert drive.
More fuel-efficient than the traditional Cambodian
vehicle and equipped with fire extinguishers and spare wheels, the new
factory-made tuk-tuks are being touted as the maintainable alternative
to local, hand-made vehicles.
Two months ago, an Indian compan,
Bajaj Viper Auto, the world’s third-largest manufacturer of motorbikes,
exported their business to the country with an offshoot called Viper
Auto Cambodia.
They have brought the first 20 new tuk-tuks to
Cambodia and at the end of this month, they will import more with the
intention of replacing local tuk-tuks.
Pen Sopheak, the
administrator in charge of imports at Vipar Auto Cambodia, said that the
new tuk-tuks are safer than the locally made version.
“Local
tuk-tuks cannot brake to stop in three metres if they are running fast.
But our tuk-tuk can do so because it has the same brakes as a car,”
Sopheak said.
But the vehicle is unlikely to fit more than two
passengers, unlike local tuk-tuks which can carry four easily and even
five or six at a push.
Sopheak said that passengers will find
the new tuk-tuks more comfortable, although there is not much space for
tourists to stow luggage.
Vipar Auto Cambodia keeps its 20
tuk-tuks at Stueng Meanchey commune, where the further 20 will also be
kept when they arrive. Seven have already been sold to drivers.
During the current promotion they will be sold for $2,500 US dollars but after it finishes he’ll sell them for $3,000.
He
has also sent some of the tuk-tuks to Siem Reap province where he
believes the high levels of tourists means there will be a strong
demand.
But tuk-tuk drivers who have tested the new stock say that imported tuk-tuks are unlikely to replace the local vehicles.
Sok
Vichet, 45, who has driven tuk-tuks in Phnom Penh for three years, said
that people will prefer the local tuk-tuks, which can carry four
passengers with some luggage comfortably.
“They brought those
‘Indian tuk-tuks’ to display next to us and asked us to try. I decided
that it would not be better than local tuk-tuks. Our tuk-tuk is higher,
larger, and able to carry more people,” he said.
The new
tuk-tuks are almost double the price of the cheapest vehicles sold
locally. Drivers say the price is not a problem, but the fact that the
new vehicles are produced abroad will deter sales.
Sok Vichet
said that none of his friends who also work as drivers has changed to
the Indian make. He believes that local tuk-tuks attract tourists
because they were locally produced, and are part of the national
identity.
“I’m sure some foreigners who come to Cambodia would
like to try the vehicles invented by local people, so I don’t think I’ll
change mine to the imported one,” he said.
The new tuk-tuks are more expensive but can go faster, and consume less gas.
The
imported tuk-tuks, the RE145D model, is a two passenger carrier, with
four foward gears and four reverse gears. Running on petrol, it has an
average speed of about 55 kilometers per hour. On one litre of gasoline
it can travel up to 45 kilometres.
Local tuk-tuks are cheaper,
usually sold for between $1,600 and $2,500. They have only one brake,
can drive at up to 40 kilometres per hour and guzzle a great deal of
petrol – between 20 and 30 kilometres per litre.
They were converted from the longer carts pulled by motorbike known as remmorks.
The word tuk-tuk is likely to have been brought over from Thailand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roth Meas at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com
People in Siem Reap province yesterday make offerings to the remains of
victims who are thought to have been killed by the Khmer Rouge.
Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
Lat Ngi struggled to explain to her daughter the significance of what she was holding.
“This is your grandfather,” she told the little girl, holding a 15-centimetre jaw bone segment out to the incredulous child.
“I
know it is my father’s bone, because he had platinum covering his three
teeth here,” the 40-year-old said, pointing to three decayed teeth
pockets along the jaw. “I knew he was brought here, but I never imagined
I would actually find him – I can’t find the words to say.”
Ngi,
who now lives in Thailand’s Pattaya state, rushed to arrive at the site
for yesterday’s ceremony for the spirits of the dead as soon as she
heard the news about the recent unearthing of the Khmer Rouge-era
execution pit.
A small crowd gathered around Ngi to confirm her remarkable discovery, some in awe, others in anguish.
For
many, the uncovering of a mass grave in Kralanh district’s [Du Dantrei
village] had inspired a measure of desperate hope to find the final
remains of relatives who were executed or disappeared under the Khmer
Rouge regime.
More than 300 villagers gathered at the now-halted soil excavation site to participate in the ceremony yesterday.
While
monks led villagers in the blessing ritual, a small group of despairing
Khmer Rouge survivors broke away to place a makeshift altar adorned
with candles, a fresh pig’s head and fruit at the base of the pit where
human remains, including children’s bones and 20 skulls, were dug up
last weekend.
Sitting by the altar, first one, and then several
more villagers began scratching at the ground with their bare hands. An
older villager descended into the pit with a stick to break through the
earth. In less than five minutes, the group had filled two large silver
offering platters with bones, and Ngi had found her father.
However, not everyone was as fortunate as Ngi.
Vorn
Mol, 57, recounted through a stream of tears that not only had she lost
both her parents at this site, she had lost all four of her children,
and had no way of being sure she could ever recover their exact remains.
“I don’t know what difficulty they went through before they
died,” Mol, crouched in prayer, said. “I come here to dedicate to their
spirits so that they will never see again what they got in this life.”
With
a shaved head and cataracts creeping across her irises, Mol was
vehement in stressing her wish that all remains in the area were exhumed
and taken to a stupa for proper burial.
“I don’t want them
buried in the mud like that,” she said. “I want to see all the skulls
together in one stupa and to keep it as evidence.
“I want to
request the Khmer Rouge court to find justice for these victims, and
make all of the people responsible for their actions.”
According
to Thuy Sam Oeut, 55, who was held at the nearby prison in a 30-person
work group breaking stones, cadre conducted the executions early in the
morning.
“Between 4am and 5am, I saw that they took young people
and old people to this area,” Sam Oeut said. “The man who is in charge
of this [….] I don’t know where he went after the regime failed.”
Many
of the villagers claimed that from 1979 to early 1980, Vietnamese
forces wiped out many of the former controlling Khmer Rouge cadre in the
area.
However, none of the villagers speaking with the Post yesterday
recalled seeing or hearing of any tribunal investigators coming to the
area.
Deputy village chief Moek Samkhan said he had paid a group
of villagers five cans of rice per day in 1980 to excavate as many
bones as they could find from the nearby furnace pit.
Rice husk and, during 1977 to 1979, humans – alive and dead – were incinerated in the pit to make fertiliser.
A thick blanket of gritty, black debris covers what remains of the 15-by-25-metre furnace pit and its surrounding area.
“We
did this in 1980, and it took about one month to collect all the bones
we could,” Samhan said. Those bones are now kept in cubic-metre cement
containers in the shell of the former prison office on Trung Bat
mountain, about 500 metres from the site of the latest discovery.
The
unkempt structure is covered in graffiti and some of the cement cases
are cracked and broken away, exposing the fragments of rock and bone
within.
“We knew what happened there [at the furnace and prison],
but we did not know there was more here too,” he said, adding he would
work to fulfil the villagers’ wish that a memorial stupa be built in the
area.
A stupa is pertinent, because memories will likely die
with survivors, 83-year-old Kan Kimly said, her eyes blinking back tears
as she spoke.
“I try to tell my grandchildren the stories, but
they don’t believe,” she said, struggling to smile. “How can you believe
what happened?
To contact the reporters on this story: May Titthara May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com and Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com reporting from Siem Reap
Burma’s president helps fund ’88 24th anniversary event
Thursday, 09 August 2012 12:41
Mizzima News
Burma’s President Thein Sein personally sent two cabinet minister to
hand over a check to a former political prisoner to help fund a 24th anniversary commemoration event of the 1988 protest movement held in Mandalay on Wednesday.
Burma's President Thein Sein Photo: President's office
Ko Ko Gyi, a prominent leader of the 1988 protest movement, said it was
as if the newly elected government was also participating in the
anniversary commemoration.
“I feel like this is a step toward reform,” he told The Associated Press. The ministers gave the 88-Student group a check for more than US$ 1,000.
Presidential
spokesman Nay Zin Latt said the government recognized the anniversary
as a “historic event” and the president wanted to show his sincerity
about achieving national reconciliation.
“The president always
talks about national reconciliation,” the spokesman said. “This action
can help build better mutual understanding.”
Ko Ko Gyi, who spent
years in prison following the bloody crackdown on the 1988 uprising,
said the gathering called on the government to recognize the anniversary
as a national “Day of Democracy” and demanded that the 88 Generation
student leaders be allowed to take part in the country’s reform process,
according to an article on the Radio Free Asia website on Thursday.
“After 24 years, we 88 Generation members must be part of the political transition in Burma,” he said.
Min
Ko Naing, another 88 Generation student who was jailed in the aftermath
of the 1988 military action that left as many as 3,000 people dead,
according to some accounts, said the group’s focus was as sharp as ever,
despite many of its leaders having spent decades in prison.
“Many
88 Generation students were sent to prison in different locations and
their family life was disrupted by that. Many of our lives were thrown
into disorder by this prison experience, but we never gave up, even
though we were undergoing such harsh measures,” he said.
A similar anniversary event was also held in Rangoon and other areas of the country.
The
demonstration that started on August 8, 1988, was a nationwide popular
uprising known as the People Power Uprising, which unfolded as a series
of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots, ultimately suppressed
by the killing of hundreds of demonstrators.
The 8888 uprising
was started by students in Rangoon and spread throughout the country.
Hundreds of thousands of ochre-robed monks, young children, university
students, housewives, and doctors demonstrated against the regime.
The
uprising ended on September 18, after a bloody military coup by the
State Law and Order Restoration Council. Thousands of deaths have been
attributed to the military during the uprising, while government
authorities in Burma put the figure at around 350 people killed.
Thousands more were jailed.
Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) gestures before delivering his speech at the
National Assembly yesterday in Phnom Penh. Minister of Interior Sar
Keng (2nd R) and Deputy Prime Minister Sok An (R) were also in
attendance. Photograph: Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post
Sometimes
austere, other times ebullient, Prime Minister Hun Sen spent his rare,
more than five-hour speech to parliament yesterday outlining a border
demarcation plan with Vietnam and taunting the opposition before
refusing to answer anything other than written questions.
Peppered
with vitriolic outbursts at his critics, the premier’s speech to 103
lawmakers at the National Assembly focused on a plan for Cambodia and
Vietnam to compensate one another with unoccupied land for villages it
had been agreed fell in the opposing country’s territory.
“The choice is that we must keep the same situation according to the occupation [of areas] of people,” he said.
Land
for exchange in Kampot, Kampong Cham and Takeo provinces had already
been agreed upon by the two countries, while negotiations to do the same
in Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces were under way, Hun Sen told the
parliament.
Cambodians have been occupying 2,160.6 hectares of
territory belonging to their eastern neighbour while Vietnamese are
living on 916.7 hectares of land in the Kingdom, he added, stressing
that exchanges would be equal, hectare for hectare.
The process
of demarcation, the premier said, followed that which was laid down by
King Father and former president Norodom Sihanouk, relying on maps
devised by the French colonial administrations of Cochinchina (southern
Vietnam) and Cambodia.
“I would like to say that with both land
border and maritime border, we followed the map which Samdech Norodom
Sihanouk deposited at the United Nations [in 1964],” he said.
“Your insults of Hun Sen are equal to insults of Sihanouk, because Hun Sen follows Sihanouk for all.”
National
Assembly President Heng Samrin enacted his constitutional right to
quash any debate during the session, though the premier did answer four
written questions sent to him by Sam Rainsy Party whip Son Chhay more
than six weeks prior.
Heng Samrin’s decision infuriated Son
Chhay, who said Cambodia was undoubtedly alone amongst democracies
around the world in having a parliament that was never allowed to debate
anything.
“They don’t allow us to speak, they don’t allow us to
ask questions, for five hours just listening to his threats – we’re
really pissed off,” he said, adding that it was the first time in almost
20 years that Hun Sen had even answered a written question in
parliament.
“If you don’t have any questions, you don’t call it question time, you call it propaganda time.”
The
government, he said, was constantly violating Article 96 of the
constitution by not responding to questions within a week or simply not
answering at all, which had happened with 70 per cent of the letters he
had sent.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said he felt the
solution the government had presented to resolve the long-running
process of demarcating the border with Vietnam was fair but also
expressed disappointment about the premier’s conduct in parliament.
“We heard one side of the story, so we should be able to hear the other side as well,” he said.
In
response to the written questions, Hun Sen clarified Cambodia’s
position on once-disputed Phu Quoc Island, which is currently part of
Vietnam but known by Cambodians as Koh Tral Phu Quoc, as well as two
villages in Kampong Cham province.
The premier said Sihanouk had
told former Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong that Cambodia no
longer demanded Koh Trol back in 1999, relinquishing the Kingdom’s right
to the island.
Sihanouk’s personal adviser and secretary,
Prince Thomico Sisowath, refused to comment on any discussion the king
father might have had with Pham Van Dong in 1999 but said the map the
king father had taken to the UN made no such concession.
“The map
which the King took to deposit at the UN claimed that Koh Trol is in
Khmer land. Cambodia denied that France took Koh Trol to give to
Cochinchina,” he said. In June, senior minister in charge of the
Cambodian Border Affairs Committee, Va Kimhong, said the government
would have to cede two villages to Vietnam to keep Thlok Trach and
Anlung Chrey villages in Kampong Cham province’s Ponhea Krek district.
Ever since, the opposition has been demanding to know which villages
would be ceded in exchange for the territory that includes the
birthplace of Heng Samrin.
But Hun Sen yesterday simply confirmed
that part of Heng Samrin’s village was in Vietnamese territory and that
the National Assembly president had been lobbying hard for it to remain
in Cambodia, without explaining whether or not it would.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh did not reply to enquiries from the Post.
Not
for the first time, Hun Sen accused Son Chhay of political skulduggery,
rehashing his old claim that the lawmaker, whom he belittling referred
to as his “younger brother”, had acted as “his little spy” in 1997 in
exchange for US$10,000.
The premier took the allegation further
yesterday, claiming 20 pages of documents and a CD recording proved Son
Chhay had tipped him off about a plan to overthrow him in 1997.
“During
that time, you reported [to me] about the military situation that was
organised by [then-Funcinpec military commander] Nhek Bunchhay, Khan
Saveoun and Ho Sok. It was a good report that made me have enough time
to prevent the situation in advance,” he said.
Hun Sen, then
second co-prime minister next to Funcinpec’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh,
became Cambodia’s unopposed leader shortly after, following bloody
factional fighting that the premier has repeatedly argued was not a coup
d’etat.
Son Chhay said it was sad that the prime minister of
Cambodia behaved in such a dishonest, undignified way in a speech
broadcast across the country.
“This is a dirty game, this is a
cheap thing, that this man has been using. So they play this game,”
Chhay said, rejecting all Hun Sen’s accusations as complete rubbish.
Son
Chhay has previously conceded that he did indeed accept US$10,000 from
Hun Sen, but only when he returned to Cambodia in 1997, money he
believed parliamentarians that had stayed had also be given.
Not
taking the money, Son Chhay told the Post in December 2006, could have
been seen as a “negative reaction” to a goodwill gesture from the
premier and jeopardised his negotiations with Hun Sen to secure the
return of other politicians who had fled.
To contact the reporters on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com David Boyle at david.boyle@phnompenhpost.comWith assistance from Vong Sokheng
Pepsi to return to Burmese market
Friday, 10 August 2012 13:57
Mizzima News
PepsiCo, one of the world's largest drinks makers, will re-enter the Burmese market, after pulling out of the country in 1977.
It
has signed an agreement with a Burmese firm to distribute Pepsi-Cola,
7-Up and Mirinda brands in the country, and it is exploring the option
of setting up production there.
The firm's major rival, Coca-Cola, announced plans in June to return to Burma.
The drinks maker has been expanding its operations in developing and emerging markets.
PepsiCo
said that it would also partner with the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to launch vocational
training initiatives in Burma in a bid to improve labour skills in the
country.
“PepsiCo and UNESCO plan to work together to provide
programs that focus on managerial skills training to support the
country's development, empower its people and strengthen the workforce
as PepsiCo looks to expand its business in the future,” it said in a
statement.
------------------------------------------------------------
Olympics: Dispelling doubts about exceptional feats
By Ewen Callaway
(Copyright: Getty Images)
Could the fledgling field of performance profiling reveal the truth about Olympian achievements that defy expectation?
It started with a splash, but the ripples continue to be felt.
When
16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen touched home to win a gold medal
in the 400m individual medley, accusations began to fly.
She had
beaten her personal best in the final by about five seconds and her
world championship winning time from a year earlier by seven seconds,
leading one American swimming coach to label it “suspicious”.
Suggestions of foul play were rife. Ye, who has never tested positive
for performance enhancing drugs - in or out of competition - called the
accusations “sour grapes”. The International Olympic Committee declared
her post-race drug test clean.
Her world record-setting victory
has now been dissected more times than a medical school cadaver. Sports
commentators, scientists, and swimming fans have produced charts, statistics and thousands of words both defending and questioning the authenticity of Ye’s performance.
The controversy hasn’t ended there, as I found out when I wrote a short explainer article for Nature News.
While the arguments and counter arguments continue, the debate has
shined light on a little-studied area of sports science called
“performance profiling”.
This fledgling field melds sports
statistics and computer modelling to flag performances that on the
surface seem to defy human physiology or an athlete’s career trajectory.
Profiling has already highlighted past wins that were heavily suspected
of involving some form of cheating. But performances as they happen in
the pool, track or road is a different matter – how can authorities
instantly distinguish a clean athlete who has put in a superlative
performance from one who has cleverly evaded drug tests? When opinions
and conjecture can make or break an athlete’s reputation, not to mention
relationships between sporting nations, can science reveal when fast is
too fast?
As Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe told the BBC,
he and other elite swimmers like Michael Phelps took large chunks out
of their personal best times in their youth. And at the same games
15-year old Lithuanian swimmer Ruta Meilutyte improved her personal best by three seconds in the 200 metres freestyle event – a comparable amount to Ye.
Ye’s
final 100m – and her last 50m in particular – has become the most
scrutinised leg of her race. Reporters and commentators were quick to
point out that she swam her final 50m faster than American Ryan Lochte’s
gold-medal-winning performance in the men’s event. It’s an incredible,
though not unheard of, feat for a female. But Ye’s supporters have said
that comparing like-for-like in terms of the last 50m times doesn’t tell
the whole story.
Lochte had a huge lead going into the final lap
and may have eased up as a result, whereas Ye was down nearly one second
at the start of the freestyle leg. Her performance could have been the
product of an extraordinary, yet inexperienced athlete who didn’t know
how to pace herself. However Ross Tucker, an exercise physiologist at
the University of Cape Town, South Africa noted on his blog
that athletes performing at their physiological limit tend to slow down
as fatigue sets in, whereas Ye seemed to have a lot left in her tank
after swimming 300m a couple seconds off world record pace. Also, her
final 100m was only 10% slower than the best times in the women’s 100m
freestyle swim; typical 400m individual medley performances are 18-23%
slower.
Unusual trends
Using these types of
statistics to establish whether a single performance is down to fair
means or foul can raise questions but not answer them, say advocates for
performance profiling. Critics may put an exceptional performance down
to doping, but many other factors influence an individual run, swim or
shot put, such as training, weather, sleep and diet.
What performance profiling can do is to help scientists and
authorities determine the range of what is “acceptable”, and then use
this information to screen and select athletes who might warrant closer
scrutiny. Profiling could be particularly useful when athletes are
training and most likely to dope, says Yorck Olaf Schumacher, an
exercise physiologist at the Medical University of Freiburg, Germany.
“It’s all about narrowing down a large collection of athletes to suspect
ones.” It’s economically unfeasible to monitor every athlete 365 days a
year, and performance profiling could help anti-doping authorities
apportion limited resources.
One sport that has sought to analyse
performances on such a scale is also one of its most tainted: road
cycling. Since 2008, professional road cycling has taken a similar
approach to performance profiling with the “biological passport,”
which tracks physiological indicators associated with blood doping over
an athlete’s career. A suspect passport led to more frequent tests for
Italian cyclist Antonio Colom, and in 2009 targeted anti-doping tests
turned up the banned blood-cell boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO). He
received a two-year ban.
Performances in cycling’s biggest races during this period reveal some unusual trends, according to a 2010 study in the Journal of Sports Sciences
that analysed the average speeds of the top finishers in 11 races over
116 years. Performances tended to improve over time in a series spurts
before plateauing. These spurts occurred around World War I, at the dawn
of pro cycling; between 1919 and 1939, when improved training and
lighter bicycles joined the peleton; after World War II, when
soldier-cyclists returned home; and after 1989 when cyclists began
taking EPO, a banned artificial hormone that gives athletes greater
stamina. Between 1989 and 1997, the average distance of
the Tour de France increased from 3,285km to 3,944km (2,040-2,450
miles) and featured 17,000m (55,770 feet) of additional climbing – the
equivalent of two Mount Everests. Average speeds should have slowed
11.3% during this period, instead they rose 4.5%.
Historical
performance profiling suggests that athletes in other endurance sports
may have been culpable too. In a 2009 paper titled Performance Profiling: A Role for Sport Science in the Fight Against Doping?,
Schumacher and a colleague uncovered similar trajectories in distance
running. Men’s 5,000m and 10,000m times fell dramatically in the 1990s
and began rising again in the 2000s, only after a test for EPO was
developed by anti-doping scientists.
EPO and other blood boosters
aren’t the only performance enhancers whose introduction created blips
in sports statistics. Schumacher’s study found that women’s discus
throws became dramatically longer in the 1960s, 70s and 80s during a
boom in steroid use; they came down to earth in the late 1980s when
authorities introduced out-of-competition testing.
Data crunch
Performance
profiling is already happening informally, says Tucker, because
athletes who turn out gold-medal-winning performances are tested more
frequently in and out of competition than also-rans. But proponents of
profiling argue that statistical modelling, not just success, should be
used to identify the athletes to watch most closely.
In a 2010 paper
published in the open access journal Plos-One, Geoffroy Berthelot, a
computer science researcher at Irmes Insep in Paris and his team studied
thousands of top track and field and swimming performances recorded
between 1891 and 2008, and came up with three statistical measures for
how atypical an individual race or swim was, leaving any doping
accusations aside. Their metrics looked at how much of an outlier a
performance was from other athletes, as well as how long it took another
athlete to eclipse a time. Florence Griffith Joyner’s 1998 world record
of 10.49sec in the women’s 100m sprint scored high on the latter
rating. Joyner, who died in her sleep from a sudden epileptic seizure in
1998, never tested positive for performance enhancers but her career
was stained with the suggestion she used steroids.
Picking out peculiar performances with 10, 20, even 30 years of
hindsight and data is easy compared to spotting them in real-time, says
Berthelot, who is working on developing metrics that could be used
without decades of data. Atypical performances, he says, stand out when
compared to an athlete’s prior performances. Joyner, for instance, ran
her fastest times in her late 20s and early 30s, an unusual trajectory
for a sprinter, says Berthelot. Though Usain Bolt has also lowered the
100m world record time considerably in a short space of time, his race times have improved smoothly and, at 25, he sits at the typical peak of a sprinter’s career.
To
make performance profiling more rigorous, sports scientists must
determine a typical trajectory for each sport and each event by studying
data from hundreds, even thousands of careers, says Berthelot.
Sprinters tend to peak young and fall off quickly, while distance
runners typically peak in their late 20s and early 30s and lose their
speed less quickly. With this foundation and as much data as possible on
an athlete’s past performances, computer models could put a probability
on the likelihood that a performance was unusual enough to warrant
closer drug screening, or whether it fits the trajectory of a
exceptional career.
Undercover tactics
Such
models would make predictions with less certainty for young athletes
such as Ye, who do not have a long career’s worth of data points, but
junior records could fill the gap, says Berthelot. Another challenge is
to choose carefully the athletes and eras to which they calibrate such
models. Career trajectories of doped athletes won’t do a good job
discerning pharmacologically enhanced performances – garbage in, garbage
out, as they say. And sports technology adds another problem to
benchmarking performance profiling. Just as lighter bikes improved
cycling times in the 1930s, full-body suits have been behind many of the
performance gains in swimming in the 2000s, says Berthelot.
Proponents
of performance profiling stress that such measures ought to be used to
screen athletes, not discipline them. “That would be unfair,” says
Tucker. “The final verdict is only ever going to be reached by testing.
It has to be.”
Some endurance sports are already exploring this
possibility. In December 2008 the governing body of biathlon, a
gruelling winter sport that combines cross country skiing and target
shooting, sentenced world champion Dmitry Yaroshenko
to a two-year ban for taking EPO. Yaroshenko was flagged by a software
programme that tracks blood physiology and performance, and out of
competition testing turned up proof of EPO. Tucker also knows of one
pro-cycling team that voluntarily reports power measurements to cycling
authorities to show that its athletes are drug-free.
Critics
may counter that institutionalised performance profiling will cast a
pall over great races such as Ye’s, by looking for evidence of cheating.
That needn’t be the case. Statistical profiling would be automatic and
undercover, just as biological passport profiling already is. Tucker and
other sports scientists expect that Ye and other Olympic gold medalists
will draw closer scrutiny from doping authorities. But, in a connected
age of super slo-mo replays, telemetry measurements and databases,
shouldn’t such attention be based on statistics instead of hunches?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ramadan, the Islamic holy month
of fasting, begins for Muslims in the U.S. on Friday. How do Muslims in
America set the first day of fasting and what are the roles of the
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Indonesian Muslim
organizations here in this country?
The Fiqh Council of North America, which interprets Islamic law,
decided that the first day of Ramadan in the U.S. would be Friday, as it
is in most of the Arab world and parts of Asia. The Council, consisting
of a set of American Muslim scholars, based its decision on a
scientific calculation called Hisab. It enables them to determine the
start of the fasting month years in advance.
The Hisab method is different from another method called Rukyah, which
is based on sighting the moon, and is commonly used by Muslims in
Indonesia to determine the beginning and end of Ramadan.
Key facts about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
The start of Ramadan is determined by the appearance of a new moon.
Muslims are expected to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from daybreak to sunset during Ramadan.
For Muslims, Ramadan is intended to teach spirituality, patience and devotion to God.
After sunset, Muslims celebrate with family visits and iftars, shared meals that break the fast.
Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, which includes feasts and an exchange of gifts.
ISNA adopted the Hisab method three years ago.
"So far it’s working very well because the majority of the Muslim
countries have fasted according to this calculation now, [and] because
that has helped the Muslim community," stated ISNA President Mohammad
Magid.
Muslims from Indonesia living in the U.S., usually belong to one of two
main associations -- the Indonesian Muslim Association in America
(IMAAM) in the Washington, DC area, and the Indonesian Muslim Society in
America and Canada (IMSA) and those groups have different opinions
about the decision of the Fiqh council.
Oscar Zaky is the president of IMAAM. As an organization in America, he
said, IMAAM needs to follow the Council's decision and not Indonesia's
decision. Indonesia's government has decided that Ramadan starts on
Saturday, July 21, 2012.
Zaky says that even though the majority of its members are Indonesians, IMAAM is part of the American Muslim community.
Arief Iswanto is president of IMSA. He explains why his organization does not follow the decision of the Fiqh Council.
Arief says the difference should not divide Muslims. He believes both decisions are right because each has its references.
The Islamic Center of Washington, DC, the largest mosque in the
nation's capital, determined Thursday evening that Ramadan would start
on Friday.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, and are not allowed
food or drink. It is very challenging for some because of the heat wave
that most of the United States is facing right now - the worst heat wave
in decades. But Muslims are allowed to eat and drink again the whole
night, after the sun sets and before the sun rises.
Muslims will crowd mosques to break their fast and pray the Taraweeh, a
special prayer performed only during Ramadan. Based on the method of
computation, Ramadan will last for 30 days.
Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, which includes feasts and
an exchange of gifts. On that day, Muslims believe they are reborn and
cleaned from their sins.
Muslim organizations estimate that there are 7 million Muslims in the U.S.
Post-Ceasefire, No Signs of Peace in Burma's Kachin
Matt Saunders
July 19, 2012
KACHIN STATE,
Burma — A year has passed since a cease-fire collapsed between ethnic
Kachin forces and Burma's government troops and there are still there
are no signs of peace. Tens of thousands people have fled as the Kachin
Independence Organization, or KIO, fights for greater autonomy and
control over their resources.
People who fled their homes for this temporary camp in Burma's Kachin
state are bracing for the monsoon season, worrying about food shortages.
Despite an increase in foreign aid flowing into Burma's capital, Kachin
groups say little assistance is reaching the conflict zone.
May Li Aung heads Wun Pawng Ninghto, an umbrella group of eight local
aid agencies. "All of the international community and funding agencies
want to help inside of Burma," she explained. "But this is
non-government-controlled area and they are also afraid to come here."
Although some supplies have been allowed into KIO-controlled areas, that
is not the case in refugee camps on the Chinese side of the border.
A recent Human Rights Watch report criticized China for a lack of
assistance to the refugees in Yunnan and called on authorities to give
aid workers access.
Mui Hpu Kaw cares for seven grandchildren, while her four sons fight for
the Kachin Independence Army on the Burmese side of the border. She
says the uncertain future is almost unbearable. "I only wait to hear the
words, 'Let's go home, the fighting's stopped now'. Every time I see
someone come to visit the camp, I'm hoping they will say we can go home
now," she said. "I pray that I won't die here.”
Many observers are skeptical of a resolution anytime soon.
Former activist Tun Kyaw Nyein, the son of former deputy Prime Minister U
Kyaw Nyein, is now a member of the independent, pro-democracy Burma
Strategy Group. He says even Aung San Suu Kyi is treading carefully on
the conflict. “I understand fully why she is careful in the way she
brings up the topics and addresses the issues because there is also the
risk of appearing to favor one side or the other when things are so
precarious," he stated. "It is going to take some time and its going to
take all parties including Aung San Su Kyi and U Thein Sein and the
Kachin leaders to overcome this long-standing mistrust.”
In the meantime, the displaced Kachin population waits in these growing
camps for a resolution to the conflict that drags on -- despite the
dramatic changes happening in other parts of the country.
Does New Tree Ring Study Put the Chill on Global Warming?
By Natalie Wolchover | LiveScience.com
The density and width of tree rings …
A new analysis of 2,000 years of tree ring data has quickly made climate change deniers' list of greatest hits to the theory of manmade global warming.
The tree rings "prove [the] climate was WARMER in Roman and Medieval times than it is now," the British newspaper the Daily Mail reported last week, "and [the] world has been cooling for 2,000 years."
That and other articles suggest the current global warming trend is a mere blip when viewed in the context of natural temperature oscillations etched into tree rings over the past two millennia. The Star-Ledger, a New Jersey newspaper, mused that the findings lock in "one piece of an extremely complex puzzle that has been oversimplified by the Al Gores of the world."
However, the study actually does none of the above. "Our study doesn't go against anthropogenic global warming in any way," said Robert Wilson, a paleoclimatologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a co-author of the study, which appeared July 8 in the journal Nature Climate Change. The tree rings do help fill in a piece of Earth's complicated climate puzzle, he said. However, it is climate change deniers who seem to have misconstrued the bigger picture.
So, what exactly did the study find? Instead of using the width of trees' rings as a gauge of annual temperatures, as most past analyses of tree rings have done, Wilson and his fellow researchers tracked the density of northern Scandinavian trees' rings marking each year back to 138 B.C. They showed that density measurements give a slightly different reading of historic temperature fluctuations than ring width measurements, and according to their way of reckoning, the Roman and medieval warm periods reached higher temperatures than previously estimated.
That's significant because "if we can improve our estimates for the medieval period, then that will help us understanding the dynamics in this climate system, and help us understand the current warming," Wilson told
But it's old news that Northern Europe experienced a natural warm period 2,000 years ago and during the 11th century. Not much is known about the Roman period, but the medieval warm spell primarily resulted from a decrease in volcanic activity, Wilson said. Volcanic ash in the atmosphere tends to block the sun, decreasing Earth's surface temperature.
The current warming, on the other hand, has nothing to do with volcanoes. "None of this changes the fact that the current warming can't be modeled based on natural forces alone," he said. "Anthropogenic [greenhouse gas] emissions are the predominant forces in the late 20th century and early 21st century period."
That Scandinavia may have been slightly warmer in the 11th century than today also doesn't change the fact that the world, as a whole, is warmer now. "This data is spatially specific. You would expect to see this trend in northern Scandinavia, but not in the Alps," Wilson said. "Almost all models show that the current global warming is probably warmer overall than that warming."
Finally, according to Gavin Schmidt, a NASA climate scientist, the tree rings show what mounds of other data have shown as well: For the past few millennia, Earth's northern latitudes had been cooling down overall. "Similarly, we expect that over the same period the tropics should have warmed slightly," Schmidt said in an email. These trends resulted from shifts in the Earth's orbit on thousand-year-long time-scales.
But Wilson, Schmidt and the vast majority of climate scientists agree: human-caused warming of the entire globe now overwhelms those subtle, regional heat redistributions. World temperatures are now pushing in only one direction: up.
It’s now officially a substantial trend: a study by the National Sleep Foundation found that 25 percent of couples sleep in separate rooms. That’s one in four couples! Many who choose to sleep separately are reluctant to discuss it, but for most people, the decision to sleep in separate beds is a practical decision. It seems that sleep is elusive when you bed down with a partner who snores, tosses relentlessly, traipses to the restroom repeatedly, hogs the covers or is drenched in sweat each night.
One partner often retreats to a guest room, kid’s bed or the family room sofa while hoping that people won’t assume the worst about their relationship. By 2015, The National Association of Home Builders says that it expects 60 percent of custom-built homes to include dual master bedrooms for this exact reason. “It’s important for couples facing these issues to try their best to avoid being influenced by negative social stigma and [others’] judgment around sleeping apart and be as creative and innovative in finding solutions that work for them,” says Manhattan psychologist Dr. Joseph Cilona. And while sleeping in separate beds may solve some issues, it’s not always a perfect solution. Sleeping separately may mean you’re both getting better rest, but will it chip away at the romance or take a toll on overall intimacy? Some folks think that sleeping apart robs a marriage of its special connection.
Here’s how couples can combat living as roomies and keep close, cozy and connected even if they sleep in different beds:
1. Stay touchy-feely with each other. Even when couples don’t hold each other all night long, a lot of touching goes on while you’re falling asleep. Touch enhances the sense of intimacy and it also has a measurable biological effect: it stimulates the production of oxytocin, the hormone that deepens human bonding.
Separate-bed solution: “Make a real effort to stay touchy-feely during the day. Don’t just walk by each other; stop for a casual kiss or a loving pat. Hold hands on the couch and cuddle while you watch TV in the evening before bed,” suggests Beverly Hills psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman, author of Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets (Cogito Media Group, 2010). “Couples need to make an extra effort if they sleep apart to consciously make up for the loss of loving touch. It’s not only important for holding onto the romance — touch is vital to emotional and physical health.”
2. Engage in pillow talk. You may have lots of focused conversations about your kids, the car, work and the dog, but there’s also intimacy in the kind of pillow talk couples engage in as they relax before falling asleep. Good marriages thrive on these private, unplanned conversations that may vanish when you start sleeping separately.
Separate-bed solution: Try to fall asleep together in the same bed with the understanding that if one partner disrupts the other’s sleep, that person will slip off to a different room during the night. The one who wakes up first can join the other for pillow chat in the morning. Lieberman suggests taking your pillow talk “to go” — while snuggling on a porch, in front of a fire, in the garden or in any cozy corner of the home — with candles, soft music, strawberries and whipped cream before retreating to separate sleeping arrangements.
3. Plan your romps between the sheets together. If you’re not snoozing together, you might end up having less sex. But psychologists say that many couples’ sex lives are enhanced by sleeping in separate rooms — in fact, it can even lead to greater desire for a partner or more frequent sexual encounters.
Separate-bed solution: “Instead of the ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ effect that sleeping together can bring — along with morning breath and bed head — you can present yourself at your most appetizing best,” says Lieberman. Women should forego their flannel pajamas for sexy lingerie instead. Light candles, take a bath or shower together, and invite your partner “over” to the bed he or she doesn’t usually sleep in. Create a “love nest” atmosphere and be spontaneous about where you will make love that night before you go to sleep.
4. Find other ways to sustain your emotional connection. It’s easy for any couple to get caught up in the daily grind and take each other for granted. If you’re not sharing a bed nightly, it may be even easier to miss each other’s cues for connecting emotionally.
Separate-bed solution: “Look for ways to be able to lie down together, even if it’s not sleeping with each other every night. Just some quiet time [spent] holding each other can help deepen your relationship,” says Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, psychologist and author of A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness (Morgan James, 2009). Look for other ways to connect outside the bedroom, such as having at least one date night each week, engaging in a hobby or fun activity together — not just paying bills and doing household chores. Make breakfast dates (and keep them fresh) by planning a picnic on the floor, for example; other ideas could include eating on the porch or enjoying breakfast in bed together. “You shouldn’t sleep and eat separately — or it’s a recipe for disaster and divorce,” says Lieberman.
Jennifer Nelson (www.byjennifernelson.com) is a Florida-based freelance writer whose work appears in Self, O - The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Family Circle, Women’s Health and many others. She also regularly writes about health, lifestyle and relationships for Parade, Glamour, MSNBC.com and WebMD.
Preeyanooch Phuttharaksa, immediately after her death sentence was
passed by a court in Ho Chi Minh City, and her old photo from MySpace.
(Main photo from Sports & Culture newspaper, Hanoi)
Police at Ho Chi Minh airport took this photo of Preeyanooch the day she was arrested last October for smuggling 3kg of drugs.
